RWBY: The DAWN
by Dalastjedi
Summary: A generation before the events of RWBY, a prodigy, a hunter of Huntsmen, a Son of Darkness and an unforseen ally will join forces to fight an ever growing evil and shape the world of Remnant as we know it. Rated T for coarse language and violence.
1. Prologue 1

**Disclaimer: Neither the Editorial nor I own RWBY or any related products. All rights to RWBY goes to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**

Purity Destroyed

Making his final checks on his inventory, Drake de Alexander Venari prepared himself for the mission ahead. He had received a mission to rescue a girl being held by an amateur group of kidnappers now demanding money from her parents.

_Ransoms…Never the most efficient crime, and never the most successful._

Drake didn't really even think it was worth his time, but the payment was high, so he was going to get the job done. It helped considering the girl's parents were rich noblemen that owned a large area of land, but after this was all said and done, he was going to go back to more…important matters.

_He could practically feel the sound of the door being bashed into. His father, taking up a defensive position, held an arm out to tell him and his mother to stay back._

Drake blinked the memory away, cursing himself under his breath for not checking whether he had enough medicine to deal with the Recall Syndrome. Ever since the incident four years ago, he has been haunted by the vivid memories provoked out of the recesses of his mind.

Checking his outfit one more time, he stalked out of the shadows of an alley and onto the near-deserted streets of south Vale. This was the part of the city where people were either too poor or too rich; making it clear that it wasn't as safe as it should be out after dark. To the few onlookers he passed, he didn't seem like the type of person that should be troubled.

Under the streetlight, Drake wore a worn, black set of robes and pants, along with thick leather black boots. Leather and Velcro straps adorned his body, holding dust-infused throwing knives, as well as a halberd strapped to his back. Along his waist, Drake wore a belt on which two bulky revolver-like weapons that had blades that reached from the hilt of the weapon to the bottom of the end of the barrel, as well as several pouches that held his spare ammunition.

Drake didn't enjoy being under observation as he worked, so while he could, he clung to the shadows of the alleys for the next two blocks to the tall office building. This was where he was told by a "friend" of the kidnappers where they had taken the girl. Arriving outside it, he stopped to marvel at the construction, half-worn from use and half-still a bright light among hundreds across Vale. After he spent less than ten seconds admiring the building, he pulled off the deep-red metal mask that hung on his belt and pressed it to his face. A second after he did so, he could feel the bits of metal concealed behind his cowl snap forth to form attachments to the mask itself, holding it in place as the inside lit up with a Heads-Up-Display. Wearing the mask, he was no longer Drake. This was his business face, and his business name was Sabre

'_I hope you know what you're asking for by signing up for this lifestyle.' His mentor had told him._

_Yes, and I'm ready._

Shaking the fragments of the memory away, Sabre found himself agreeing with Drake yet disagreeing with the decision he made all those years ago. Yes, he had been ready for this lifestyle, just not to its fullest extent. Sneaking by the night-guard on duty, he passed through the sliding glass double doors of the building. Sabre was met with no resistance, and immediately began searching for the elevator.

_I'm not walking up…twenty flights of stairs. _He thought to himself as the "friend" had the generosity to tell him which floor they operated on. It made sense though, this building was only being half used. All the floors between the roof and the fifth floor were unoccupied and empty, giving whoever could enter the building at this time access to seven floors of hiding space.

He snuck by another guard as he found where the elevators were built, only to find them guarded by two more guards. Thankfully, they didn't look too physically fit and had drowsy expressions on their faces.

He walked around the corner of the pillar he was hiding behind before walking up to the two guards. One of the tensed up before he drew his companion's attention towards Sabre.

'H-hey! You can't be here.' One of them said, while the other pulled out a baton in anticipation.

Sabre said nothing as he continued to approach them, flexing his fists encased in his leather gloves before taking off in a burst of speed straight towards the guard with the baton. He immediately struck the man in the joints in his weapon arm before twisting his wrist, causing him to drop his baton.

The other guard came up behind him with a taser, causing him to let the first guard go to use both of his hands to grab onto the arm that held the taser. The two tussled for a few moments before Sabre was able to take a kick in the man's left knee, causing him to buckle slightly, which gave Sabre the height he needed to strike the man in the head, knocking him unconscious.

Taking the taser from him as the man collapsed, he quickly turned to face the second guard, who had gotten back to his feet and was preparing to take a swing at him with the baton. He twisted around and fired the taser at the guard. The two prongs hit the man in the shoulder, and in a few moments, he was a twitching, paralyzed, unconscious body on the floor.

Content with his work, and assuming that by the time the other guards found out what had happened that he would be done, Sabre stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the tenth floor. Standing in the white-washed elevator, he felt reality start to slowly crack in his vision. He leaned on the walls of the elevator for support as random memories flooded his mind.

_You might have to get mixed up with innocent lives. _He remembered his mentor tell him. _And when that happens…_

_I'll know what to do. _He replied, earning a smile from the battle-worn man who gave him a pat on the shoulder.

Next came the memory of his first kill. His first Human kill. It was when those men had barged in through his front door. He quickly scrambled for cover behind a wall, the twelve year old boy he was, panicking and cracking under a situation like that.

His father had rushed to confront the men, while his mother moved to protect him, reaching for her own weapon. The sound of gunshots rang through the corridors of the house as Drake and his mother made a push for the back door. She stopped before a cupboard to find something, and that was when the man appeared. Drake never found out his name, but as he approached his mother with his gun raised, Drake did the only thing he could think of. He tackled the man square in the chest, as he did not notice the boy. They both fell to the floor, but because the man had absorbed the bulk of the fall, Drake scrambled for his weapon and fired off four shots into the man's chest.

With the sounds of the shots echoing in his mind, Sabre returned to the current situation. He turned his head to look at the panel which indicated what floor he was on, just as the elevator stopped on the tenth floor.

Sabre's hands went for his halberd, The Nightingale, as he slung it off his back as the doors to the elevator opened. Meeting with no resistance, he proceeded to sweep the tenth floor for the girl. It didn't take long before Sabre's mask began to pick up voices from one of the office rooms. As Sabre approached, he noticed that this was the only room that was illuminated-though faint. Preparing to enter the room, he pressed his back against the plaster wall and flipped open the iron-sight on top of the halberd.

Keeping himself as close to the wall as he could, Sabre peered around the corner of the opened doorway to see how many enemies he was dealing with. The mask quickly marked six, well-armed men as Sabre took a quick peer around the corner. He also saw the girl, who was bound by her hands and feet to a chair with a gag over her mouth. She had platinum-blonde hair and wore a silver-coloured shirt with the word "YOLO" on it, as well as a pair of grey jeans. She looked to be about the same age as Sabre, which wasn't much considering that he was only sixteen years old. That alone was enough to raise eyebrows at the efficiency of a sixteen year old in his line of work, which is why he chose to wear the mask.

The room was quite large, albeit having been stripped of its contents aside from the chair in the center of the room. Seeing no other way to approach the situation, he pulled out a small canister from a pouch on his belt and pressed the button on top of it. The light began blinking as he threw it through the doorway. It hit the ground twice before exploding in a bright light.

Sabre quickly moved through the doorway, one hand on the end of his halberd, while the other rested on the bolt-action mechanism of the halberd. He fired on one stunned man at the end of the room, the round bouncing off his head but sending him to the ground before he fired a second round that penetrated his skull.

Pulling back on the mechanism, Sabre swung his weapon at a man on his left, rubbing the flash of the flashbang out of his eyes. The blow from the curved, axe-like blade knocked the man unconscious as Sabre turned his attention to the others. He swung at another man to his right, who had enough instinct returned to him to raise his sword to block the strike. It was a weak attempt as Sabre quickly jabbed forward with his weapon to get around the sword. However, Sabre used the other end of the halberd, which had a V-shaped blade, to pin the man to the wall.

The other's in the room had regained their senses and drew their rifles on him, but Sabre quickly pushed back his robes to reveal the two large guns he wore, The Ursa's Claws. Drawing them faster than the men could load their weapons, Sabre fired two shots into two of the men's chests, splattering blood on the walls.

As the last man opened up on him with his rifle, Sabre pulled back one of his hands to throw one of the guns at the man. The large, curved blade at the base of the gun pinned the man to the wall as he walked up to him and put the blade of the other Claw against his neck. His eyes screamed defiance one last time as he slit the man's throat, blood gushing out of the open wound.

Checking that he had incapacitated everyone, he moved over to a chair, where a single, wide lamp cast light down on the girl. She still looked dazed from the flash, but she was recovering as Sabre approached. She looked on with fear, muffled sounds coming from the gag as Sabre pulled out one of his throwing knives, tossing it between his hands, he stood inches from the girl before he brought the knife down, and cut her bindings.

After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and removed the gag as Sabre retrieved his halberd, the man pinned under it collapsing to the floor with a large intake of breath.

'God, you scared me!' the girl remarked, rubbing her sore wrists. 'Did my father send you?'

'That depends, are you Nicole Lunas?' he asked, pulling out a few rounds out of his pouches to replace the ones he used. His voice came out distorted, thanks to a distortion mechanism built into the mask.

'Yeah. Yeah, that's me.' She said, gaining more confidence with every breath. 'Who wants to know?'

'The man your father sent.' Sabre simply replied, turning his head to one of the men he previously thought unconscious, who was now talking into a communicator.

Without batting an eye, Sabre flicked the throwing knife still in his hand at the man, hitting him in the neck and causing him to fall to the floor.

He turned back to the girl who winced at the sight. 'You're not a Hunter, are you?'

'No, I'm not.' He replied, his vision shattering back to the moment he found out that his uncle was going to enroll him into an academy that would complete his Hunter training. He had been…less than excited.

Coming back to the moment, while trying to not give it away to the girl, he refocused on her once more. 'We need to leave, now!'

He crouched down over one of the unconscious men and took his pistol. 'Right, jolly good.' She said with a smile.

Sabre walked over to her and took the gun from her hands. 'No weapons.' He stated.

She frowned and formed her lips into a pout, though it did nothing for him. 'Then what am I supposed to do if they attack me?'

'You don't get attacked.' He said, not turning around a second time as he walked over to the elevator, stopping when he saw the panel indicating that the elevator had reached the fifth floor and was still ascending.

Turning around, he began searching for the emergency staircase. 'Change of plans. Head to the roof!'

After kicking open two office room doors, Sabre found the staircase after Nicole pointed out the sign that identified it. Making a mental note about the setback, Sabre sprinted up the staircase, reaching the roof under half a minute. Trying the door that would open out to the roof, but finding it jammed, he took a few steps back to take a running start against it. It flew open, allowing a gust of the nighttime air to blow over him.

Not wasting any time, he began thinking of ways that they could make it off the roof without dying as soon as he saw the girl pass through the doorway, panting slightly. 'You're pretty fast, has anyone told you?' she commented as he walked back to the door. Closing it, he pulled out a vial of Ice Dust and coated his glove with it. He ran his hand along the door, creating a layer of ice that would hold the door in place for a while.

'How are we supposed to get down from here?' Nicole asked, somewhat skeptical. Sabre only turned back to her after he heard the faint sounds of footsteps approaching.

'We'll have to jump.' He concluded, looking over the edge.

'Jump? Oh, no. No no no!' she shouted, with a look of shock and fear.

'Do you have a better option?' Sabre asked, pressing a button on the side of his mask to calculate the distance from where he was to the bottom, as well as pulling up a map to break away from their pursuers.

'Yes, I can create a rope.' She said, flicking her hand and creating a long, glowing rope of pure Aura. 'If we can secure it somewhere, we can shimmy off the side of the-' she was interrupted by the sounds of something bashing against the door.

'Do us both a favor and do as I say.' He said, a little more affirmative this time, which she responded to with a nod.

Taking three steps back, Sabre tackled the girl, much to her protests at first, over the edge of the roof. For the first two seconds of their descent, the girl screamed in fear, which eventually turned into cries of excitement and joy.

Two floors from the ground, Sabre positioned himself underneath the girl and formed a maroon-colored, translucent shield underneath him. They hit the grounds seconds later, cracking it, while remaining unscathed. He quickly pushed the girl off him and stood at attention. Performing a quick sweep of the area and making sure there were no enemies around, he turned to the girl to see if she had been injured on the fall.

Standing over her and offering her a hand up, Sabre watched as her breathing slowed down, and as she quickly beamed at him. 'That. Was awesome!' she shouted, taking his hand.

_She's got guts, I'll give her that. _He thought with the ghost of a grin on his face, concealed by the mask.

As she continued to babble about surviving the fall, Sabre quickly analyzed the map in his field of vision to find the most discreet and elusive path to his rendezvous.

Grabbing the girl's wrist, he led her down an alley, but not before he heard the shouts of one of the security guards that patrolled the grounds of the office building. She tried to keep up with his pace, reluctant at first, but giving in as the man's grip would not loosen. Barely slipping into the shadows of the alley, Sabre heard the echo of a bullet hitting one of the brick walls that made up the alley, telling him that they would be right behind them.

'So,' she began, trying to break the tense atmosphere. 'What's your name?'

'Sabre.' He said, before taking a left down into a narrower sub-alley, paying no mind to the vagabonds and beggars that lay in the streets, as he knew they would think twice at attacking a man as armed as him. Even thoughts of harassing the girl were quickly snuffed as they saw that she was in his grasp.

Nicole scoffed. 'That's not your actual name, is it?' she asked as she was jerked out of the alley.

'No.' he replied, dragging her along the sidewalk, though she had become less resistant to being dragged along by the wrist and was even keeping up with Sabre's pace.

'Where are we going?' she asked, as they crossed the street into another alley with a wire fence that blocked their path.

'To a rendezvous where I'll hand you over to a contact who works for your parents.' He explained. 'Get climbing.'

Grumbling something that Sabre couldn't hear, the girl nimbly scaled the fence in seconds, which was impressive for an aristocrat in Sabre's mind. 'Come on, slowpoke.' She said while tapping her foot. 'I haven't got all day and those guys are going to catch up.'

Sabre quickly jumped up and vaulted over the fence before continuing at a brisk pace, Nicole trailing alongside.

'So, are you just going to not talk to me the entire time until we meet up with your contact? I mean, thanks for the rescue and all, but all I'm saying is that you're not the most talkative bloke, are you?' she continued her rambles until they made a right in the alley to appear on another street, only this time, there was a matt black car speeding their way down a road.

'Is that-' her question was left unanswered as a man stuck his hand out of the car and began shooting at Sabre. He quickly held out his hand to form another rectangular ward in front of him as he walked out onto the street in front of the car.

Reaching for one of his knives, he grasped it for a few moments, feeling the weight in his hand before throwing it at the hood of the car. The knife stuck to the car, but this time it was missing the ring-shaped end that had dislodged when Sabre threw it.

As the car drove around him to try to get closer to the girl, who had run back into the alley, it swiveled with an ear-piercing screech for a split second before the front of the car exploded in a ball of fire.

He washed as the burnt-out car slowed to a stop a less than two meters away before he turned back to the girl, her eyes wide in awe and her mouth hanging open.

'Now that!' she shouted, pointing at the car. 'That was awesome!'

'Let's go.' He said in a monotone voice, though he was secretly pleased at the praise from the girl. They walked past the wreckage of the car down the street with Sabre leading the way, but not before he slowed down momentarily to draw one of his Claws and firing it at the four men trapped in the car.

Not wanting to waste more than four shots, he continued walking without checking whether the shots had killed all four men or not. Glancing over at the girl to see her reaction, he saw an expression he discerned to be admiration or inspiration. _Funny, I thought she'd be disgusted._

But it was not an admiration to the deed, it was an admiration towards him. Towards Sabre.


	2. Prologue 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any major part of RWBY or Rooster Teeth. All rights and reserves go to their respective owners and Monty Oum.**

Kind Hearted

_Inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale…_

Abraham always found that breathing exercises helped right before a test, and this was no exception.

The morning sun shone down on the clearing in the Emerald Forest, reflecting off different specks of water that still hadn't evaporated since the downpour last night. The blonde had been worried – initially – that the rain last night might have made Professor Ozpin want to cancel his test today, but the bad weather didn't seem to bother the professor at all.

More than anything, Abraham Linkin wanted to show how much he had learned from his time at Beacon and how far he had come since he arrived five years ago. He wanted to prove to everyone at the school that he was worth keeping around, especially Ozpin.

After all, Ozpin was the one who saved his life all those years ago.

Even to this day, Abraham still vividly remembered the day his village fell to the creatures of Grimm, still remembered his parents telling him to run towards the distant green light in the dark and to look for the man with grey hair and a cane, still remembered his father placing his black top hat on Abraham's head and telling him that it would protect him from the monsters. He had been petrified with fear that day, unable to scream, fight or even run. Eventually, it was his mother's violent shove as a Deathstalker had crushed her that got his legs to start working again.

…he still remembered the warmth of his mother's hug...the warmth of his father's blood.

The dirty-blonde boy had spent days travelling through the dense, Grimm filled woods with nothing but his father's weapon – a meter-long woodcutter's axe that also served as a shotgun to defend himself. His clothes were in tatters and brown from stumbling and sleeping in the dirt, having lost their hunter-green colour. Even the white thread of the necklace he wore around his neck that housed a silver ring had become tarnished. At night, the smooth wood of the Nightwither was his comfort blanket as he nodded off to sleep, wary of any sound.

By day and by night, he was tormented by menacing growls and snarls from the tree-line and from creatures he could just barely see. It was almost too much for him – driving him to the point of near-madness, where he would swing the axe at almost any sound, which was no simple feat as the weapon was as big as him. However, something – or rather someone – kept him from the descent into madness. A young but rough voice in his head always helped point him in the direction of the green light whenever he was lost. After hearing the voice for the third time, Abraham began to trust it as it was never wrong. Either way, he was too tired and too desperate to deny its help.

After three days of endlessly travelling towards the distant green light, Abraham could finally see the source of the light, making it out to clearly be a large clocktower-like structure on top of a sheer cliff. The climb up the tremendous cliff was the only thing that separated him from safety.

Or so he thought.

Careless of his surroundings, Abraham tripped over a thick, black root that stuck out the ground, and in doing so awoke the large, dormant Grimm Dark-Bough. The Dark-Bough was shaped to look like a thick dead and rotting tree that preyed on sleeping travellers that chose to take rest near it. This made it a nocturnal Grimm, unless somebody woke it up. Large black roots tore up from the dirt and supported a large black tree-trunk as several blood-red eyes opened across its surface and it let out a low howl.

Exhausted from his travels and starving, Abraham knew he could neither fight the creature nor run away from it. That is, he could not fight it alone.

A root came crashing down on his position as he rolled to the side before getting back up again to hack it apart. When he successfully severed the root, the separated end disappeared into a cloud of black vapour.

_To your right! _He heard the same voice tell him in his mind, snapping him back to the adrenaline-fueled fight he was going through at the moment. Without thinking, he dashed to his right and narrowly avoided the sweep of another root.

_Drop down! _It told him, and so he did, narrowly avoiding an overhead sweep. However, the blonde didn't feel like he could continue dodging the creature's attacks for much longer. Lying with his back on the ground, the Dark-Bough seemed to be able to sense it as well as it slowly settled on either side of him. Abraham's breathing rose and hitched as it stretched one of its long branches down to grab him.

Abraham held the axe over him and closed his eyes, waiting for the moment when the branch would strike and end his life.

That moment never came.

Instead, he heard the sound of wood snapping and opened his eyes to see that a raven had struck the branch that was reaching down to grab him, breaking it apart.

_I will distract the branches, you attack its roots! _He heard the raven speak to him in the same voice as the one which had been directing him about the forest.

Without questioning, he got back to his feet. Seeing now that the Grimm's attention was split between him and the raven, he got to work at severing the various roots of the creature, which was harder than it sounded as they were constantly thrashing about in an attempt to crush him.

On top of that, Abraham had to work quickly as the Grimm's wounds would quickly close up if he did not cleanly cut the limb off. After hacking through the fifth root, something clicked inside of him. The more he fought the more natural the motions felt, like the fighter he was now was inside of him all along.

That was when Abraham first discovered his Semblance. With a burst of conviction and will, the Nightwither glowed a dark-silver in his hands as he sprinted faster than he ever had before straight towards the screaming Dark-Bough. With one well-placed swipe of the axe, the bark of the tree-like Grimm split apart almost completely.

The creature crashed onto itself as it slowly began evaporating while Abraham slumped to the ground, more exhausted than he had ever been before as the raven landed on top of his top hat.

_Are you alright? _It asked him, concern in its voice.

'Y-yes.' He managed in between breaths. 'How do you…know how…to speak?'

_I do not. _The bird replied as it flapped its wings. _But I was drawn to your Spirit while you stumbled about in the forest. I could sense that you were in dire need, so I have been guiding you on your journey._

'You were the voice…telling me which way to get to the green light!' Abraham suddenly realised as he took off the hat to rest at his side.

_Yes. I did not wish to make my presence known, but decided to intervene when you fought that horrendous creature._

'Um…do you have a name?'

There was a pause in the mental connection the two shared before the raven flapped its wings once. _I do not believe my name translates very well, but in your Human tongue it would be, Doombeak._

'Doombeak?' Abraham asked with a weak chuckle. 'That's a weird name.'

Before Doombeak had a chance to reply, their attentions were both drawn by a low growling sound. Abraham turned with frightful eyes to see a stag-like Grimm standing several meters away from them. The creature was scrapping its hooves on the ground, getting ready to charge.

The blonde boy turned to Doombeak with a pleading look in his eyes. He was far too tired to fight again as he couldn't even feel his legs. The raven understood his plight and flew straight at the Grimm, trying its best to draw its attention away by pecking and scratching at it.

This only served to annoy the Grimm as it charged at Abraham, lowering its large, sharp antlers in preparation to skewer the boy.

However, barely a meter away from him, an elderly man jumped out of the treeline and caused the Grimm to stagger by sticking his cane in its antlers and changing its charge path. The creature tripped over something before toppling to the ground right before the man struck it straight through the neck with his cane.

All this happened just a meter in front of Abraham, and the poor boy was breathing heavily from the shock of all of it. Stepping over the disintegrating corpse, the man – who Abraham could now see had completely grey hair – approached the blonde before kneeling in front of him.

'Are you alright?' he asked in a gentle voice before slowly reaching out a hand. Abraham's first reaction was to flinch away from the hand, but slowly leaned forward into the touch as he saw that the man only wanted to examine the injuries on his face.

'That was quite a fight you were just in.' the man spoke as he tilted Abraham's face left and right. 'And you have quite a unique ability.'

'A-are you a doctor?' he asked when the gentle touch of the man's hand left his face.

'Of sorts.' The older man said with a light chuckle. 'Come with me. I will take care of you.' He said as he extended his hand for Abraham to take.

The boy only hesitated for a second out of the paranoid nature he had developed during his time in the forest before he reached out and was helped to his feet. After that, the man walked him back towards the cliff while saying something about getting him some new clothes and something to eat.

That was the first time he had met Professor Ozpin, but that was also five years ago.

Now he stood in the Emerald Forest he had wandered into all those years ago, clad in a silver-grey cotton shirt under a black trench coat with black trousers and ankle-high boots. He still wore his father's top hat and carried the Nightwither, but he also had a few new tricks.

'Abraham?' Ozpin's voice broke him out of his reminiscing as he tapped on the earpiece he was wearing.

'Yes, sir?'

'The timer has started already.'

'Oh, sorry sir.' Abraham suddenly kicked his legs into high gear and sprinted through the forest in search of his target.

'Now remember, Abraham your target is wearing a red cloth over its forearm. We'll be watching you from the hidden cameras and Huntsmen sent to oversee your test.'

'Of course.' He replied before cutting communications in favour of reaching for NIghtwither, which was slung over his back. Along the way, he ran by a pair Beowulf which he quickly dispatched with a single swipe and a shotgun blast straight into the other's face.

This was a good sign as it meant that he was getting closer to the rest of the pack. However – as Abraham had come to learn, it never hurt to be extra sure.

While his silver eyes scanned the forests, he focussed a part of his mind on the mental bond he had established long ago. _Doombeak, do you see it?_

_Yes. _Came the quick reply. _And it's moving further away from you._

_Brilliant. I love a good hunt. _He sent back. After spending enough time with the bird, Abraham had mastered the art of communicating with his companion via the telepathic bond they both shared, though it took a lot of patience and concentration. _Which way?_

_Continue in your path. _He heard as he looked up at the sky to just see Doombeak flying overhead. With a silent nod, he cut the connection and kept sprinting until a group of Creeps popped out of the ground. The blonde knew that fighting this many Creeps would set him behind the Grimm pack ahead, so he decided against fighting them in favour of drawing one of his new weapons, Arboria.

Five years ago, upon returning to the same spot where Abraham had slain the Dark-Bough, what remained in its place was a sturdy log of a hard, ebony wood that was resistant to fire and as tough as iron.

Ozpin thought it only fitting that it should be Abraham's prize to do as he pleased. The boy back then only took three seconds to decide what it should be used for, and Glynda Goodwitch had been more than happy to help him carry he log back to the academy.

Abraham spent an entire week just dedicated to carving out the two-meter long totem pole-staff that he now wielded. Along with its intricate wing-like design at the end of it, the staff could also split in half and had been hollowed out, capable of firing shards of Dust at speeds matching many rifles.

With it, he struck the ground with it before firing a single shot to propel himself over the snapping Creeps before firing a Fire Dust crystal straight at the group while he was still performing a front-flip.

Abraham didn't even bother to look behind at the resounding explosion, as he needed to push forward lest he attract more Grimm to his position.

_Abraham, they are headed for the ruins. _He heard Doombeak's voice in his head. He gave the raven an unspoken word of "Thanks" as he changed the direction of his sprint ever so slightly so that when he burst into the forest clearing, he was facing an old, mossy set of stairs that led up to a stone altar.

A small pack of Beowulves were making their way up the set of stair when Abraham called out to them. They all turned around to see him and he immediately noticed that one of them had a red sash around its upper forearm.

'Looks like I found you.' The blonde muttered to himself as he replaced Arboria on his back and held Nightwither in both hands. Almost immediately, the Grimm started charging towards him while more started pouring out from around the ruined structure.

As the first Beowulf leapt at him, Abraham firmly planted his feet on the ground before swinging the axe with all his might. Having trained with it so much and having grown over the course of the five years since he first arrived, the axe wasn't nearly as long and heavy as it once was.

Turning with the force of the attack, Abraham followed the strike up by planting his foot against the shoulder of a Beowulf that was trying to sneak around him before pushing himself off the creature and tackling into a Creep.

Both he and the Grimm tumbled to the floor, but Abraham recovered quicker and finished the creature off by decapitating it.

He didn't even have time to assess the current situation as a Beowulf came charging into his side. However, instead of trying to dodge or level with the creature, Abraham decided to roll with the attack and was able to grab onto the Beowulf's bony protrusions as the monster tried to bite his head off.

Eventually, Abraham was able to position himself so that he hung onto the creature's back as he drove Nightwither into its skull. The death blow abruptly stopped the Beowulf's charge as it tumbled to the ground, sending him flying.

While in mid-air, Abraham stretched out both of his arms while flicking his left wrist. The motion caused two small, thin crossbow limbs to spring out of the bracer he wore on his right arm before he fired it at a Creep that was closing in on him.

The bolt was enough to cause the creature to tumble to the ground, but it wasn't enough to kill it. That was when he refocused his attention on a small Ursa that was closing in on his right. In the span of half a second, he twisted his body so that he could hold Nightwither in both hands before firing a shotgun gauge straight at the creature.

Although, Abraham underestimated both the creature's durability and the force of the shot, as it sent both him and the Ursa stumbling backwards as he ungracefully hit the ground.

Getting back up and dusting himself off, he noticed that the number of Grimm had at least decreased during his fight. Reloading Nightwither, he scanned the area for his target before spotting it, standing behind at least half a dozen other assortment of Grimm.

Before he had time to think of a battle strategy, Grimm starting crawling towards him from all sides. Unable to think of a better combat form, he just blasted away at each of them until his shotgun was empty before resorting to using his hidden crossbow-bracer, the Night Raven.

After dispatching with the immediate threat around him, Abraham had more time to reload and think of a better strategy before more Grimm decided to attack him. Right before he was about to slip the first shotgun shell into the axe, he heard Professor Ozpin's voice through the earpiece.

'Remember, Abraham; Dust is Humanity's natural weapon against the creatures of Grimm. Use it to its full potential…'

'Or don't use it at all.' He finished as he dropped the shell in exchange for a pair of Dust crystals from the pouch he wore on his hip.

He slotted both into the chamber of the axe/shotgun hybrid before pumping it. Focussing on his target – which was slowly closing the distance between them, he closed his eyes for a moment as he focussed on activating his Semblance. His mind went back to one of the last things he remembered his father telling him, as it most often teased the activation of the Semblance.

_Don't be afraid of the darkness…It's more afraid of you._

Opening his eyes, his whole body glowed with the energy of his Semblance as he sped off. As he was a meter away from the pack of Grimm, he fired off the first Dust crystal which caused a strong hurricane to form around him, picking up twigs and leaves as he spiralled towards the pack.

Abraham fired off the second Dust crystal as he barrelled into them, creating a torrent of fire as he swept straight through them. Breaking his fall with a roll, he turned around just in time to see the fiery wind sweep across the other Grimm to the side of his target, charring them before they all eventually fell to the ground.

The blonde was overjoyed at the success of the attack, as he had never tried to combine those two particular Dust types together. He gave a cheer as he jumped up in the air before skipping over to one of the charred corpses and untying the cloth around its arm.

'Did I pass?' he asked to no one in particular as he held the cloth over his head, sure that there was someone in the treeline who could see him.

'I think you performed excellently, Abraham.' He heard Ozpin's voice through the earpiece.

'Not bad for a twelve-year-old, eh?' he gloated with one hand on the earpiece to better hear Ozpin's praise.

'You still have much to learn…but you're making great progress.' Ozpin construed. He couldn't see the others who were watching him, but he hoped that they were all proud of him. It was all he wanted at this point.

Well, that and lunch.

'So uh, how do I get back?'


	3. Prologue 3

Grimm Heart

Running. The world is dark and the darkness has eyes, prowling through shadows like wolves through a wood. But the darkness was not the hunter, for wolves are not always on the hunt, and sometimes the hunter becomes the footsteps sounded softly, yet all so loudly, and with them came the deadly sound of a predator, a predator that was once a friend, but was now an enemy, like all things must eventually become.

An eerie whistling lunged through the air, and something pierced me in the back, like a dagger of misguided and evil betrayal. And with that came pain, but with that pain came surprising cold, relaxing and calm.A shape towered over me, a dark looming tower of the inevitable, filled with fangs of steel. The footsteps stopped like a rabbit feeling the eyes of a predator, or a creature gloating over its kill. There was sadness there, or bittersweet triumph, though I could not place it, and all faded into shadow.

* * *

Chapter I - The Rebirth

The world was of shadows again, yet it seemed that a long time had passed, and a great many things, seemingly small but with far-reaching consequences, had come to pass. And still a shape towered over me, a shape with eyes of fire, and a body of darkness that blotted out everything else. I heard a pained cry then a whimper, like a dog being beaten by its master, and all went dark again.

Now I woke up, and I was in a bed, or what felt like a bed, but had no blankets except what seemed to be a cover of solid shadows. The time of day was not apparent, and the sky could not be seen, as well as everything else in the room. There was a presence nearby, although I could not tell what, which felt dark, and cold, and suddenly I could feel my own body. It felt as though it had changed greatly, yet stayed the same. I felt stronger, both in body and soul, and in what felt like countless other ways, yet I also felt chilled, despite all I could do to prevent it.

Suddenly I remembered the presence, and fell off the what-seemed-to-be-a-bed-but-was-most-probably-not, and I heard, or rather felt, a chuckle. I felt a strange, detached, amusement, like one watching a clumsy chick, and felt a strange, yet irresistible, compulsion to move towards the source, and I complied, against most common sense, and, suddenly, I was a new being, and, indeed, I could remember little of what had happened from when before I woke up.

I felt a sense of pride from the presence, and I went back to the not-bed, as I called it, and drifted back to sleep.

The next day the darkness almost felt at home to me, and I supposed it to be the power of my new being, but I also felt more, dark, myself. Like I had grown at home to the dark, and so I was more shadowy myself, but not as an evil being, it was simply more aligned with shadow. I also awoke with a ravenous hunger, and I was provided food of a strange sort, food-but-probably-not-food. It was, like everything, made from shadow, but filled me almost wholesomely. Almost.

* * *

Chapter II - The Awakening

Many days passed, I knew, though I could never see the sun or moon, and still all was in darkness, like a dark creature's belly. But with everyday I became stronger, like a nurturing killer's womb, and with everyday I was more of a shadow myself. I started seeing dimly in the darkness, and, eventually, I felt as if the shadows were my cloak, and, indeed they became one.

Still more time came and went, and, one day, I could see. Seeing was like feeling there was something right beside you all the time, while you secretly rebelled against it, and, once you accepted it in full, you became its master. As soon as I could view the room about me, The Presence greeted me in full. It announced with a deep voice I never heard again, save in my mind. It announced proudly and in a deep voice, dripping with power, 'I am The Alpha.' Eventually, that voice would be the spark that started a fire, a fire that would remake the world, but that was far in the future, far after The Alpha.

And yet another mystery was revealed to me, as well. The not-bed was revealed to me in full, and it was a great structure, one of murk, and was stronger than steel, yet as soft as spider-web, waiting to ensnare its enemies in its eternal webs of dreamless sleep.

At first I was hungry, very hungry, like a wolf hungering for a meal of tender, juicy, flesh, from another wolf as much as a little girl. So then I took my meal from the pack. Then I was thirsty, as thirsty as a wolf who had been out in the unforgiving forest for far too long, as happy to take blood as water, and so I slaked my thirst, too, from the pack. I felt the need for claws to snatch, to take or steal whatever I wanted, and so it was that took it from the Beowolves. I wished for the power of death, the potency of poison, like the wicked and long dagger of betrayal, and I took it from the Death-Stalkers. And I hungered for the power of shadow, to envelop me like a cloak, a cloak that hid my true form, and created a human form in its place. So it finally was that I took that from the Murk-Spinners*. Finally, I wished for the dominion of all things, and I needed to take that from the humans, and I proclaimed that to The Alpha, and so he revealed to me my true purpose In the Grimm. I was to masquerade as a human, and to, slowly, learn all that there is to know, and then to take the humans, and to give the Grimm control of all things. From that day forward, I was part of something much larger. To be fast, strong, and powerful, and to take all the things that I wanted, and that The Alpha, as well, wanted.

After that day, I learned the true meaning of Grimm. He who has mastery of the shadows, and he who has the strength to take that mastery, and drape the oppression, like an over-heavy blanket, over all others. That, is truth, or was truth for the present.

*Grimm spiders, spin webs of shadow for fellow Grimms to reside in and create Grimm dust, a substance that destroys nature, and replaces it with a Creature of Grimm(respective to kind of creature corrupted)

* * *

Chapter III - The Way of The Grimm

For a long time I lived among people, creeping into their lands and kingdoms like a wolf creeps into a cottage. And for a long time a bided my time, discovering information about all the kingdoms, and learning all their weaknesses, and strengths. And for a long time I thought about power, and The Alpha. It seemed to me as though The Alpha was doomed to die, as all things, and It's friends would to turn to enemies, as was inevitable, and the weak would die, and the strong would take the power and gain mastery over others.

And so eventually it came to pass that I, knew that I had to kill The Alpha. Not for power-lust, not for greed, but for the way of the Grimm.

At night, prowling through the shadows, like a wolf creeping through a wood. Nothing had ever made me feel more alive than knowing what to do, and doing it. I crept into the ancient ruin, my footsteps sounding softly, my prey was my friend, and master, yet not, not anymore. It is the way of the Grimm.

In the clearing I saw The Alpha. He was huge, easily 4 times my height, and had a shimmering darkness wrapped around him like a cloak. But despite all appearances, I was stronger. He did not see me. I suddenly lunged at him, an eerie whistling through the air. He moved quickly, and sidestepped my strike. And disappeared into the shadows. He did not vanish for long, though, as he dashed out like a snake, and stabbing at me fiercely with his colossal talon. I used my murk cloak to deflect it, and raked along the entirety of The Alpha's belly. But this was not to kill. Like a wolf raking a boar's back, merely to weaken it, while probing it for a weakness. Like I had done with Man. But even though I had scored a strike, he had still not showed all his might. Suddenly dark shards, like terrors out of some dark dream formed around him, and they shot towards me like the claws of an eagle, reaching out to take me and rip me from limb to limb. I knew the murk would not protect me this time. I rushed towards The Alpha, a tornado of claws, and I unleashed the killing blow. I struck out with my stinger at his unprotected thorax, and injected my deadly poison into it, like the final death blow to a great creature from a weapon it had created. I then ran the stinger through the rest of his body, like gutting a pig, and he collapsed.

* * *

Epilogue

As soon as I killed him, his power flooded through my body. I found I had mastery over darkness, and I could manipulate shadows like wind manipulates fog. I could also form shards of dust, and use them to strike my enemies, and give them to my 'friends'. I also became the Alpha of the pack, and so I had many things to do. I still walked among Men, and I still hungered for power. But the fuel was catching, and great events were about to come to pass. The world was changing.

**A/N: The OC suggestions are still open. Submit yours now in the review or PM me. Or we might just have to end up creating more OCs ourselves. *Distant audience moaning***


	4. Prologue 4

Ladies Man

The boy watched in horror as the blade dropped down. Blood sprang out like a vibrant red, deadly, sorrowful, flower. He screamed in anger, and in frustrated humiliation, trapped inside a cage of glass, with a thousand evil eyes watching him, unblinking, and gaze was drawn inadvertently towards another gruesome display. A horrible parody of a living man was shown to him, with a blood-soaked body and empty eyes. Again he screamed, and this time arms like steel grabbed him by the shoulders, and heaved him into where the dead body was. He was thrown into a deep pool, with shadows swimming in the depths. Suddenly a shape lunged out of the darkness. Eyes like glared like hot coals came burning, and shards of darkness sprang at him from the shadows. A Squalos. Remembering his training, he quickly evaded to the left of the teeth, and snatched one of the foot long, needle sharp teeth to use as a weapon. The Squalos*, infuriated by its prey's survival, lunged at the boy with all its might. He quickly evaded once again, and saw the sheer size of the creature before him. It's mouth was large enough to swallow a man whole, and it's tail was like a colossal knife. He felt a terror seize his heart, but he resisted. Taking the tooth, he sliced a gargantuan cut from its head to its tail he felt it tremor in agony, and he quickly swam down, finding a oxygenator and escaping through it. Unknown to him, the beast's wounds regenerated, and it vowed revenge.

*a Squalos is a shark-Grimm, that his a huge shark, and can shoot it's teeth out of its mouth, which then instantly regenerate. It does not possess the power of wound regeneration, though. Read my alpha theorem.

* * *

Chapter I-Escape to The Snowy Forest

He went through the moist, cold, tunnels, and there, in the steel walls, he let his grief out. It could be heard echoing throughout the entire complex, and most of the guards thought it was a ghost, a spirit of the dead screaming out its grief and rage. Most of the guards did not investigate. The mechanical ones, not inclined to superstitious belief, followed in. The tunnel worked as both a curse and a blessing, and so he heard them as soon as they set foot inside. Snapped out of his grief, he quickly made his way through the maze, fleeing from the mechanical monsters for what seemed an eternity. But he was only human, and he knew he would soon be forced to fight them. Seeing no other option, he kept on his path, going straight along the vents, aimlessly. But it seemed that death in the vents was not his fate, and by luck or some higher power, he chanced upon the exit. Compared to the vents, the outside world was glorious. Snow, like angels descending from heaven, graced his dirty and sweating skin, and clean, crisp air found its way into his lungs. He laughed in joy for his escape from the tunnels, his grief and the Venaticos following behind. Regaining his senses, He knew he must find somewhere, anywhere to go, to escape from the machines following him.

And so he ran. For what seemed like eternity for him he ran, and he saw nothing, so focused was he to continue running, and to the sounds of the Venaticos behind him. For what seemed to him many nights and days, though he only ran for the time of two hours, and then finally sound of the seeming tireless Venaticos* suddenly stopped, and then came again, but faded away. He collapsed on the ground, fatigue mastering all his thought for now.

*a hunter-killer robot, with a body of a giant dog, and Equipped with purple dust(poison). It's power is not in direct strength, rather it's in stalking it's prey and killing it with one small bite (like a komodo dragon)

* * *

Chapter II-The Big City

He eventually came to, to see a concerned face above him, watching over him. He started, thinking that his family's murderers had caught him again, only to hear a reassuring voice in his ear.

'Don't be scared, it's all going to be alright.'

He intrinsically trusted the voice, and drifted back to sleep quickly, but not before noting a funny smell in the air.

He awoke to sounds of rushing and dreary excitement, and the smell of something acidic. The face was not over him. He called out, hoping someone would come. The woman came again. She said,

'So you're okay now?'

He replied, 'yeah. I'm fine.'

'You'll need to come with me now.'

Knowing that there was really no point in doing anything other than complying, he got up out of his bed and followed her to wherever she was leading him. As soon as he got up, he realized he was in a hospital. Of course! He whispered an 'ooohhhh' of understanding and the nurse turned to look at him. She asked 'What? Is everything okay?' He replied nonchalantly, simply, without bothering to explain 'That's why it smelled funny.' Hearing enough to understand, she continued walking. Eventually, after walking through the big city, they eventually got to an apartment block, with children playing outside. At that moment she informed him that that was his home now, and he should go talk to the headmistress. Indicating that he was going into the building, as soon as she was out of sight, he quickly vaulted over a fence and went out of sight. He knew that the city was not safe. His family had many enemies, and they would not stop with just his mother and father dead. They would seek to kill him as well, and the city would be the easiest place to find him. He quickly made a break for the nearest road, and followed it until he could find a place where he could be safe.

* * *

Chapter III-A Quiet Place

He followed the trail for at least a day, before coming upon the perfect place to hide from the Venaticos that was undoubtedly following him. He entered the village, pausing to look for anything that could be a job. Eventually he found one. It was a job offer for an apprenticeship at the local smithy. He knew that it would be a very good job for him, because he also needed to craft weapons, and being at a smithy would help him with that. He knocked on the door, and he looked at the man in front of him. He was quite young, but looked about double his age, from the scars across his face, and his eyes which spoke of great wisdom. He invited him in, and asked him why a boy like himself would want to work in a place like this. The boy inwardly sighed. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought it would be. 'So what's your name, lad?' he said in his gravelly voice. Startled, he had not enough time to react, so, by instinct, he blurted out his real name. 'Nathan Grey, sir'

Without any other prelude, he said 'You've got the job.' From the man's wisdom, he knew that this child was trustworthy.

The man, whose name was Irin Stonehammer, had not had his wisdom betray him. Nathan was a hardworking apprentice, always completing the required tools, and spending his spare time training with his dual pistols, "The Silver Bloods" He chuckled. He found it amusing that all the young people would give their weapons fancy names. He didn't find it amusing. He found it hilarious. He laughed again.

* * *

Chapter IV-The Venaticos

Nathan knew it was coming long before it came into sight of the town. He had improved every aspect of himself, including his aura, and he knew he could defeat it now. It crashed into the clearing, a evil joining of dust and metal, with glowing purple eyes. He knew that one bite from it would kill him without doubt. But he knew he could defeat it. It charged at him, or what it thought was him. It bit into empty air. Nathan was on the other side of the clearing, smirking at his power over the thing that had tortured him as a child. He could hear it howling from here, and he placed a few other hallucinations of himself around the clearing, before opening up with The Silver Bloods. He had recently taken his savings and bought a small amount of red and white dust for his weapons, so he could more effectively destroy it's armour, but it fired conventional rounds as well, and those would be used for the killing blow. Bolts of fire and ice shot out of their muzzles, and the Venaticos roared in pain. Caught off guard, it staggered, having it's guard down. One strike was all that he needed. He quickly ran up to it and shoved both of his pistols into the side of its face. He emptied the clips, and the deadly Venaticos was just a pile of scrap metal. He went back into the town to be congratulated by everyone. Especially the ladies. He went back into his house, which he owned once he took over the blacksmith business, because Irin had retired, and met his woman for the day. Even though they were having a great time in bed, he had other things on his mind. Now that the Venaticos had found him, the village was no longer safe. He needed allies now, he needed to become stronger, and he knew just the place.

Beacon.

**P.S. Seriously though, send in OCs...or we might just have to crossover with My Little Pony**


	5. Chapter 1

Dealing With the Devil (Revised)

**A/N: Foreword to new readers; the next few chapters may seem different in quality and writing style because they were written by the Editorial several years ago, when we were a lot less experienced. I will slowly rewrite each chapter to a standard I find significant, but I can assure you that the chapters past Chapter 11 are much better written than the first ten, so please stick around for the long haul.**

The glow of the broken moon above Vale illuminated even the darkest alley and lit the sky like a perpetual twilight. Despite being in its "Crescent" phase, the light penetrated the clear night sky and cast away the darkness of the night.

However, the shadows still lingered, as shadows were a creation of light; the brighter the light, the deeper the shadow. And, as Drake walked down the length of an alley on the outskirts of Vale, the shadow he cast was darker than his robes.

Drake had no business here at this time of night, however, this was where Sabre was meant to meet his latest client. That was who he was when he donned the dark-red mask with three V-shaped slits across its surface. The face behind the mask was merely the face of the vessel for the stone-cold demon that took over whenever work called.

There was something off about this contract that Sabre had picked up on only after he had accepted it – a rookie mistake. The task was unspecified, he didn't know who his employer was and, most importantly, the payment was unspecified.

What else could have drawn the mercenary to this task then? Nothing more than the fact that he had lost a bet at a drinking bar further downtown Vale. The mercenary he had been playing had heard a rumour about a sketchy assignment with little-to-no details behind it, except that the person who created the notice would meet with whoever wanted to take up the task at the same place at the same time on nights with a crescent moon.

It was commonplace amongst mercenaries across Remnant to dare each other to accept assignments that were either considered "suspicious" or "dangerous", so word quickly spread about this particular assignment as bounty hunters and mercenaries were pushed to do it. In the end, however, no one took up the assignment because of the lack of details about the payment, believing it to be not worth their time.

That is, until now.

_I'm already regretting this…_ Sabre thought to himself as he paced back down the alley he had come for the third time tonight. _That's the last time I visit that bar for information about Infamous…_

He had followed the only specific part of the assignment down to the letter: to meet here, down the thirteenth branch in the labyrinth of alleyways in this forgotten attempt at a suburb on the outskirts of Vale. This led Sabre to two conclusions; that he was being toyed with, or that his client was late.

As he ran his leather-gloved hand against the old brick wall of one of the buildings on either side of him, Sabre suddenly felt a chill go down his spine. It wasn't like the regular type of chill either – ones he would get from being watched or stalked. No, this kind of chill felt like a cold, intangible hand had just passed through his back and gotten a vice-grip on his Soul.

His breath caught in his throat for a moment as he froze where he was, paralyzed with a sudden anxiety at this new sense of fear. Looking about to assess where this fear could be coming from, his eyes landed on its source at the opposite end of the alley, the way he had just come.

Instinctively, his hand flew to the hilt of his primary weapon, the Nightingale, as his eyes took in the nightmarish-figure at the end of the dimly-lit alley. Truthfully, he couldn't see through the Sabre mask, but it was designed in a way that it projected whatever it was facing onto a screen inside of the mask, allowing the dark-haired mercenary to see as if he wasn't wearing the mask at all.

Hidden behind a pitch-black cloak that covered its entire body, the figure was quite indistinguishable aside from the fact that it at least looked Human. It may have just been a trick of the light, but Sabre swore, from the way the cloak lightly waved in the midnight air and seemed to absorb all light that hit it, that different parts of the cloak seemed to evaporate into the air the same way Grimm did when they were killed.

Taking a moment to compose himself, Sabre tried to get a grip on his nerves as the black-hooded figure stood motionless. About five seconds passed before the mercenary decided to finally approach his client, and intimidate him before was the one intimidated.

'About time you got here.' Drake began, his voice distorted by the distorter within his mask. However, he was only met with silence as the figure stood as still as a statue. Letting out a sigh, Drake tried again. 'So, what is it you want me to do?'

Again, the black-haired mercenary was met with silence as the seconds passed. His patience running thin, he was just about to turn around and walk the other way when the figure finally spoke up. It's voice was both smooth and venomous as it said, 'Take the books of the four Kingdoms. Bring them to me.'

Sabre had to pause for a moment to make sure he had heard that right, but when he did, confusion and rage mixed with one another in his mind. _Book stealing? Is this some kind of joke? _Wanting to clarify things before he jumped to conclusions, the mercenary took a few steps closer to the mysterious figure. 'I'm sorry; I don't think I understand what you're asking of me.' Moving closer to the figure, Sabre was surprised to find that he was only a couple inches taller than his stranger.

Instead of giving a verbal reply, the figure extended one of its hands from under its cloak, revealing what looked more like a claw than a hand – covered completely in black fur. With the palm of his "hand" facing downwards, several Dust crystals suddenly materialised out of the stranger's palm and fell to the ground with a hollow, resounding noise.

In such a state of shock at what he had seen, Sabre took a step backwards as roughly two dozen Dust crystals fell to the floor, one by one. When they stopped falling, Sabre took a moment to count them before looking back at the figure. 'What are these?' he asked.

'Payment…' the figure breathed out. 'Return tomorrow, when the moon is its highest.' Turning around, the figure began to slowly walk away into the night.

For a few seconds, the mercenary just watched as the black stranger walked away before he bent his knees to pick up one of the Dust crystals. It glowed in the moonlight and seemed to be unrefined – a cheap substance to come by. However, one Dust crystal in particular caught his attention.

Reaching over and picking it up, it felt different to the others. Every other type of Dust felt like it was filled with energy waiting to be released by its user, but this one in particular, which had a smoky-black and red colour that seemed to constantly change in the moonlight, felt cold and dead.

Looking back up to ask the stranger about this Dust crystal, Sabre was, again, surprised to find that the stranger had disappeared.

_Payment before the assignment has been completed? That's a new one. _The mercenary thought as he began pocketing as many crystals as he could before taking off his crimson-red cape to carry the rest of them like a sack. _And who the hell hires a mercenary to steal books?_

* * *

With such an unspecified task with such a broad interpretation, Sabre decided it was better to be safe than sorry with what he took. So, making a mental list in his head of what "Books of the Kingdoms" could mean, he headed down several dark alleyways towards the Vale National Library. In any other case, the mercenary would have simply taken the payment and completely forgotten about the task he was given – as he had better things to do than commit such a simple crime that he had already been paid to accomplish.

However, something _felt _different about the stranger he had run into just hours earlier. In his line of work, Sabre had seen much of what Remnant had to offer in people, Human or Faunus. The stranger he had seen and spoken to in that alley was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Almost as if it would come back to haunt him if he didn't complete the task at hand.

Granted, Sabre had only taken up the mercenary lifestyle four years ago and many of the older mercenaries kept telling him that he had barely begun to see what the world had to offer. Though he felt that what they had told him to be true, Sabre had his doubts that even the mercenaries that had been taking up contracts for decades had ever met a client like _that._

So here he was, breaking into the backdoor of the National Library in order to steal a bunch of books. All-in-all, the task actually proved more challenging that he had initially thought it to be. The surveillance cameras stationed around the back and front of the large, column-shaped building were strategically placed to cover up as many blind-spots as possible. However, many did not mean all, and the dark-haired mercenary had a knack for exploiting even the slimmest of blind-spots.

When avoiding the cameras wasn't an option, all Sabre had to do was pull out his halberd and take a swing at it, not bothering to break a few pieces of equipment if it meant that he couldn't be caught.

It took about five minutes, but Sabre eventually reached the employee entrance at the back of the public library. Just as he reached into his belt for his lock-picks, the type of lock that sealed the door caught his eye. _Magnetic…there's no way I can pick around that._

Slowly, the mercenary ran his finger along the sash that went across his upper torso before stopping on one of the half-dozen kunais that were strapped to the belt. Drawing it out of its leather sling, Sabre held it in a backhanded position before quickly stabbing it just above the keypad to the magnetic lock. Firmly lodged in place, the mercenary twisted and pulled out the ring on the end of it before taking a few steps back.

Four seconds later, the kunai suddenly sparked with arcs of electricity, firing the keypad and the small light that hung over the door. _Don't set off the alarm, don't set off the alarm…_

After about two seconds of spitting arcs of lightning, the Lightning Dust in the kunai ran dry and rendered it just another sharp weapon. When no alarms went off, Sabre took his first few steps towards the door before turning the handle and pushing it open. It swung slowly without resistance and didn't set off anything else. As the mercenary set a foot into the library he paused to remove his dagger and take it with him. _No sense in leaving evidence of who did this…_

Though most of the lights were off inside the building, Sabre didn't need them as his mask had a built-in Low-Light function, which allowed him to see everything within two metres in front of him as clear as day.

It still, however, didn't help him see the motion sensor he tripped. Pushing open another door at the end of the hallway, Sabre entered the cylindrical atrium of the Vale Library. From the ground floor, dozens of bookshelves stood perpendicular to the wall they were pushed up against, each only seven feet tall. There were nine, ring-shaped levels in total, each built so that light from the skylight in the centre of the roof of the building could flitter down and provide adequate lighting for most of the library, shining down on the librarians desk at the centre of the ground floor.

He hadn't visited it in a while, but it still impressed Sabre to no end. _Ok, enough sight-seeing…What's first? History? Geography? Culture? Religion?_

The list went on, but Sabre didn't hesitate to jump on the task sooner rather than later.

Opening up a spare rucksack that he always carried around with him, the mercenary began with pulling out several cartography books, letting them fall into the sack. Once he felt that there were enough, he moved on to the fifth floor; where all the books on history and culture were kept – keeping his eyes open for more security cameras along the way.

So focussed on watching out for more security cameras, the mercenary completely missed the floorboards that slid apart to reveal the library's hidden security system.

Despite the empty library being quiet enough to hear a pin drop from halfway across the atrium, Sabre was so focussed on running his finger along the spines of books about the Old Gods that he did not notice the other presence in the room until it began shifting its hydraulics.

The source of the noise was just behind him, but Sabre still wasn't able to turn in time before a metallic fist slammed into his side, just as he was about to turn to face his opponent.

The force behind the blow sent him sprawling across the floor and caused him to lose hold of his sack of books. Out of his grasp, Sabre kept trying to get a hold of one of the straps on the sack as he slid across the floor, though he had no such luck as the sack sailed over the railings that led to the centre hollow of the atrium.

Fortunately, the strap became caught in one of the metal beams that made up the basic structure of the railing. Sabre breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the bag dangle dangerously over the edge of the railings for a second, before getting back up to face his opponent.

In the shadows of the atrium stood a Vale-made Close-Quarters-Combat Android, codenamed "Chelybs". Through his black and white Low-Light vision, Sabre couldn't make out what colour the android was, but he could clearly see the various metal plates covering its body and its significantly larger fists, each powered by a set of hydraulics that hissed when they wound up.

Without hesitation, the android leapt towards the mercenary with its fist drawn back. Sabre tried to reach back and draw Nightingale to counter the machine brawler, but the reinforced metallic fist made contact first and sent Sabre back against the railing, knocking the wind out of him.

The android followed up its first attack with another, but this time the mercenary was quick enough to dodge out of the way first, leaving the android to leave a large dent in the metal railings. Seeing an opportunity to disable his opponent, Sabre pulled out the kunai he used earlier to overload the magnetic lock on the door and stabbed it into the back of the android's neck, lodging it deep in the circuitry inside.

Sabre had hoped that the blade would severed something vital or at least cause some critical damage, but all it did was cause the android to thrust a metallic elbow into his side, sending the mercenary reeling backwards.

With the speed and fluidity of a professional boxer, the Chelybs turned around on one foot to deliver a series of punches to Sabre's upper body, not giving him any time to respond to the sudden assault. The few times that the dark-haired mercenary was able to block and deflect the punches, the force behind them still caused spikes of pain to shoot through his arms unless he formed a Ward on his arm.

Only able to form one Ward at a time, Sabre had to use one arm to block punches while using the other to redirect them. Despite focussing entirely on defending himself from the Chelybs to wait for an opportunity to strike back, the mercenary wasn't able to stop all the punches sent his way and eventually gave in to the pain all over his body.

Knocking one of his arms away, the android delivered one final punch that sent Sabre onto his back on the floor, staring at the metallic warrior through heavy eyelids. His chest was covered in bruises and had a few broken ribs, but Sabre was determined to go down with a fight.

_Never thought I'd see the end while stealing books…_ he mused to himself as the android took two steps closer, before suddenly locking up as an arrow stuck through its head.

After giving off a few sparks, the android eventually buckled forward and fell on its knees, kneeling in a slumped position as Sabre took a moment to catch his breath now that his adversary had been defeated.

Cracking open one eye, he looked to where the arrow had come from to spot a figure standing on the opposite end of the floor above, waving down at him. Weakly, he waved back once before the figure disappeared, and then reappearing a few seconds later above him.

The girl stood at roughly five-feet seven-inches in height and wore a pair of grey slim-fit leggings covered by a pair of white boots that reached halfway up her shin. A marble-white slim-fit shirt covered her top, along with a dark-brown leather vest that was buttoned together above her waist. Her platinum-blonde hair reached down just above her waist in an unkept free-flow and her face was covered by a porcelain mask.

'I am…so glad that I let you tail me this time.' Sabre said through rasped breaths as he reached a hand up to remove the mask on his face to get a breath of fresh air while remembering the little bet between them.

'Oh, so this time you _let _me tail you?' the figure asked back with a giggle as she slung her bow across her back.

'Whatever.' Sabre replied with a sigh as he tried to sit up, immediately feeling a sharp spike of pain run through his whole body as did. Immediately, the girl knelt next to him to slowly help him up. 'Thank you, Nicole.' It felt strange to refer to her by her real name, but also felt at the same time the gesture was appropriate in return for her help. Plus, it helped that they were alone.

'I'm going to get you out of here.' He heard her say, though his consciousness was wavering.

'Grab…that sack…I…need it for the client…tomorrow.' He said as he weakly pointed to the rucksack dangling over the railings.

For a moment, a look of conflict crossed Nicole's face as she looked back and forth between the sack and her partner, who was still reeling from his injuries. 'I'll be fine…just grab it so we can get out of here before more trouble comes.'

With a hesitant nod, Nicole quickly dashed over to where the sack was hanging from and slung it over her shoulder before moving back to help Sabre up.

'C'mon, tough guy. I'm getting you out of here.' She said before sliding an arm over his back and front, causing the mercenary to wince at the contact over his freshly-bruised skin. 'Sorry.' Nicole said as she noticed the pained look on his face.

'It's fine…let's just get out of here.' He said as he slowly brought out his halberd to support him like a walking stick, trying to not put too much weight on his partner of seven months as he slung his free arm around her neck. Quickly slipping his mask back on, the duo began to make their way out of the library. 'I hope you at least tried to avoid getting spotted by any of the cameras on the way here.' Sabre decided to use some small-talk to take his mind off the pain.

'Contrary to popular belief, I can be stealthy if I want.' The platinum-blonde girl replied back with a smirk as they made their way down the set of stairs.

'Sure.' Sabre said before letting out another grunt of pain. Breathing out a sigh, he thought over in his mind how he was going to explain his request to his partner, but eventually decided to just be blunt about it. 'Listen, I don't think I'll be moving for a while, so I need you to finish the assignment for me.'

Nicole stared at him with her silver eyes full of concern. 'Are you sure?'

Nodding Sabre continued as they made their way towards the backdoor of the building. 'Yes, I'll tell you what you need to know when we're safe.' As he said this a small smirk crossed the mercenary's face as he thought back to when he had accepted the girl as his partner, and realised that it hadn't been a completely bad decision after all.


	6. Chapter 2

Back to Beacon

He stroked her naked body lovingly, and so assured himself that she was sound asleep. Then he silently crept out of the bed, put his clothes on, and walked out of the house. He had some regret for leaving so early in the morning, especially with the amount of further fun he could have had with her. He shook the thought out of his head like the light snowflakes that were beginning to fall. He took the Silver-Bloods out and examined them again. They had a plain design, but were coated with silver, and could fire dust in a bolt or cloud as well as a bullet. They had an unusually long barrel, but there was not much else to them, except that they could combine together to create a long barrel that extended from his hands, and then it could shoot a concentrated beam of dust, or it could rapid fire bullets. He put them away and continued down the path.

For a long time he thought about how he would get into Beacon, seeing as he had no certification at any other school, and he needed to be very smart as well. He was neither of these, although he was fairly good at fighting, and he had common sense as well as decent deductive skills. While he was thinking about this, he continued on the road, and, when the light began to fade like the waning of innocence, he chanced upon another town, and he thought he might stay for a day or two. He was unknowing of how much of an impact this town would have on his fate, no matter how unimportant it was in its physical value. He stayed in a hotel room that night, using the money that he had made from the blacksmithing trade, and he felt like socializing with the townsfolk the next day. He was in no terrible rush to get to Beacon, and he could still use some more time to finalize his plan to gain acceptance into it. Meanwhile, while he slept, events were unfolding involving the Schnee Dust Co., a certain huntsman, and a certain bounty hunter.

* * *

I ran across the ground with my horde of Grimm. The time for stealth was over. I had asked for the all the available cartography from the best bounty hunter in the city, in exchange for a shard of Grimm dust. He knew that to borrow the books he would have required an identity card, and the process of getting one would have raised to many questions in the human's minds. Yet strangely, instead of the bounty hunter a woman in white leather garments delivered them to me. Interesting, yet purely trivial. I now knew where to strike, to gain more food for my pack, to control yet more territory, and to destroy all the other packs. Because if I accomplished that, then the humans would be easy for me to destroy, and then corrupt, and so then I could drape the dark blanket of oppression over all of Vytal. We approached the train carrying slaves from Schnee dust co. The slaves would be useful to corrupt into Homanoses, dark shadows of corruption, what ignorant humans call "wraiths". But the slaves were not what we were taking the railroad for.

Sabre was searching through the capsized train, looking for any dust inside, but so far he had found none. He had heard word that there was a train coming in, but when he had gotten to it, he found it had already capsized, and he had been searching ever since, for the last hour. His thoughts wandered back to White Archer, which was the codename of the girl who he had rescued around two years ago, and just a month ago, had saved him and nursed him back to health, after a Chelybs ambushed him in the National Library, and nearly killed him, so she came up behind it and stuck an arrow in the back of its head, where the only remnant of its humanity lies, in the back of its head. In the last three months, she had found him and had asked him to train her. Sabre begrudgingly accepted her as his companion when he found out she had done this against the will of her parents. Over the months, something between them that was stronger than mere companionship had bloomed.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, and making a personal note not to think about her if he was on a mission, although he knew he would most probably fail to do so, he continued on his way through the claustrophobic space. Suddenly he heard a noise, and he whipped out his Nightingale, alert towards any noises. He moved silently towards the noise, which was sounding like a scared ruckus of people, with a charismatic, male voice talking over them, 'Everyone over here! Get over here and keep walking this way! I've got you covered!' Sabre muttered under his breath

'Huntsmen.'

* * *

Abraham was shouting to the slaves, trying to get them to the city nearby, but it was no good. He couldn't direct them quickly to the city, cut the trapped ones' shackles, and watch the forest for the creatures of Grimm, all at the same time. He could contact other hunter teams for help, seeing as he was a one-man-team, but that would just jeopardise the entire mission, as it was only organised by him, professor Ozpin, and Glynda Goodwitch. So he had to do all these things at once, and it was not going fast. He was constantly looking behind his shoulder, paranoid that the creatures of Grimm would creep up and kill him and the freed slaves. He avidly wished that he could have support, and he could stop any probability of Grimms sneaking up on him. Both these wishes were granted, but, fate is a fickle thing, and so both of his wishes were granted in the exact way he would not have them, involving a certain bounty hunter and a certain very interesting Grimm alpha with his pack charging his way.

Suddenly someone with something that looked like a halberd emerged from the wreckage, and Abraham quickly took him in. He was wearing black, dull robes, with leather paddings strapped across his joints, with a black hood to match. He bore a dark red mask with intricate patterns on it. He had two pistol-like weapons with huge cylinders on his belt with blades reaching from the handle to the end of the barrel, his halberd in hands, and straps with volatile-looking throwing knives. Abraham turned to face him, worried, but another sound attracted his attention even more urgently. The bushes on the side of the clearing rustled, and beowolves burst through into the clearing, howling, and behind them spinalantium; huge creatures, looking like deadly echidnas, propped down, sending up thousands of spines in the air, and they fell down in the general area of where Abraham was standing.

Strangely, they landed at almost perfect 90 degree angles, if Abraham had the time and the interest to notice. On impulse, he looked behind him and yelled to the bounty hunter, 'Mind covering me?' The bounty huntsman just nodded his head in confirmation and started shooting things.

Sabre heard the huntsman shout 'Mind covering me?' And Sabre simply nodded his head and started destroying the creatures of Grimm. In his perspective, this was a good thing. It would give him a relatively good reputation with the Hunter, and would allow him to safely continue scavenging. Or at least he hoped. He turned his attention back to shooting the beowolves. Suddenly he heard a whistling in the air, and quickly he had to hide back inside the wreckage of the train. Just where he was standing a few seconds ago, were huge, dark, spines, from the Spinalantiums, and he knew that they were the major problem. Emerging from cover, he used the Nightingale to fly over the beowolves, making a graceful arc through the air, just as the Spinalantiums launched a new volley of spines. Without stopping, he took one of his explosive daggers out of his belt, and threw it at one of the quickly approaching spines. The spines were as black as night, and as thin as a kebab skewer, yet, he knew by intuition that they were strong enough to withstand up to a shot from a shotgun. The dagger exploded in a flare of icy energy, and the spines froze and then consequently shattered. Sabre shot downwards, avoiding the glacial cold blast, then shot upward, propelling him downwards at a colossal speed, straight towards the nearest Spinalantium like a bolt of death. He split its neck apart vertically, seeing as that was the path of least resistance, throwing knives into the armoured heads of two others, with the Nightingale still embedded in the first Spinalantium's neck. He quickly wrenched it out of the Spinalantium's neck, letting a spray of black fluids ooze out, and turned to face the remaining beowolves, quickly switching to the Ursus' Claws and firing gauge after gauge round at any that came to close. One by one they fell, and eventually there were none left. Then he felt a shadowy presence behind him, and he only had a split second to duck impulsively before the black shape crashed into him.

* * *

I crashed into the bounty hunter that I had hired just a month ago. But unfortunately he had ducked, thus only hitting his head ineffectually and flying to the other side of the clearing. I lithely changed direction and faced him. Growling in a deep, threatening pitch, like the gates of hell opening to swallow a man, I lashed out with my deadly stinger and it slashed a vicious gash on his arm, yet the virulent poison did not enter into his bloodstream. I screamed out in frustration, and with that bestial howl, I devoted all of my power into a primal rage, destroying everything around me in my senseless rage, darkness obscuring my vision but anger perfecting my strength and all my other, instinctive senses. I felt my lengthened claws slice through the bounty hunter's tendons like warm, delicious, red butter, and his halberd's weakening blows danced ineffectively off my impenetrable cloak. Suddenly I felt something sharp and painful my back, and then the world went cold, dark and blur.

Abraham turned back and yelled 'How's that cover going?' and saw that the bounty hunter was not there, and cursed under his breath. Without needing to look back, and knowing that the bounty hunter was covering him, he had been able to complete the task at hand at least ten times faster, and he had gotten all the slaves going in the right direction. He cursed again, seeing a creature tearing through the bushes with incredible strength. He quickly ran up to it at a gargantuan speed and plunged the Nightwither's axe blade through it's back, and it went limp instantly. He paid no further heed to its unconscious body. He needed to find the bounty hunter. They needed to do some talking.


	7. Chapter 3

The Gathering

Abraham stalked through the woods, looking for the slight signs of the trail from the Bounty Hunter. He had been trying to locate the Rogue ever since the incident with the train. He had returned to Beacon to rest and gather supplies before he headed out. Without telling Ozpin.

Despite being in Beacon for most of his life, he still connected with the natural world very well. Doombeak had come back from hiding, and was perched on his shoulder. Finding the Bounty Hunter was hard for him, but with Arboria in his hand, he had the woodcraft to find the man. The piles of amber leaves had just blown over, and the flaming gold trees above him towered over him like ancient, royal emperors, outfitted in the gold, red, and white of their embroidery. He had missed the forests in his time at Beacon, with Doombeak, and the youthful trees there, as his only reminders of the great forests in which he had ventured in as a young boy. He shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts, and continued on his hasty path towards the Bounty Hunter.

* * *

I flew through the forest like a hawk intent on his prey, moving towards the three humans that had decimated a part of my pack, their blood and sweat a faintly wafting scent. The trees flew by me like anything else. They were inconsequential. My shadow went with me through the forest, as dark as my body, and I used my stinger's arm, like a tendril of darkness personified, to swing up into the tops of the trees, and, like some demonic creature, I glided with my cloak rigid, my eyes searching for my prey in the diverse canopies of gold and blood. It did not take long.

* * *

Drake was on the last dregs of his quickly fading adrenaline, he had been travelling for two days straight, trying to get back to his hideout as soon as he could. He was a black figure moving through the dense forest of red and gold. His encounter with the Hunter and the strange creature had kept him alert on his trip back. He didn't like this forest, it was too dense, the roots were too large and he had tripped over a few on his way to the clearing. It was stressing, but saved his life twice already from a Grimm ambush. He had begun to settle down for the evening, when his paranoia was acting up again. He quickly reached for The Nightingale and got ready for what came next.

Abraham, finally having found his target, burst into the small clearing, with Doombeak on his shoulder. The Bounty Hunter, unprepared for another human, did not shoot immediately, and Abraham crashed into him, knocking him to the floor and for a second stunning him, in his dazed state, he muttered 'This day is really not going my way.' Abraham quickly pulled him to his feet, and then nearly knocked him down again with his tremendous shouting 'What did you do that for?!' Stunned, the Bounty Hunter just answered back, stupidly 'What?' Before Abraham said anything else, a voice echoed through his head 'something's coming!' which was quickly followed by a large crack of a tree and a black shape flying through the air towards him.

I plunged through the sky, with the hunter just turning to look at me, and with detached fury in my glowing red eyes, I loosed my stinger to strike at him when suddenly and something struck me, saving his life. A well-sized bird fell to the forest floor, which was undoubtedly the hunters unwitting saviour. I refrained from going down and killing it firsthand, and focused on destroying the two warriors in the clearing. Using my cloak to fine tune my fall, I streaked down to meet the hunter, hopefully latching onto him and flaying his head until only a red-coated skull remained. But he nimbly dodged my attack, flying to the left, and then he brought his axe to bear, attacking in turn, but to my merit I used my cloak to deflect the blow. I brought my stinger about to bear, sweeping across the clearing and slamming the Bounty Hunter into a nearby tree, bringing him into the battle. I then used the momentum from striking the Bounty Hunter, and like a giant, deadly, pendulum swung it around to strike the Hunter. The Hunter took a heavy blow, winding him for a moment, but then the Bounty Hunter attacked. Two gleaming darts hit my cloak and bounced off harmlessly, but before I could react to them, they exploded, combining fire and ice, both struggling to consume the other, and shards of ice coated in fire flew my way. In an instant I retracted my stinger, returning it to its place inside my arm, and I leaped up, letting my leap carry me over the shards. One still managed to hit my cloak, exploding, and putting me off balance in the midst of my leap. I fell to the golden floor of the clearing, but I quickly leapt up just in time for the Hunter to attack me. Two crossbow bolts came at me suddenly, and I just barely evaded them, one skimming off my cloak, putting me off my balance.

Then the Hunter flashed into my vision suddenly, wielding his axe and almost decapitating me with it. I flew into the air, just as the Bounty Hunter dashed into the fray with his halberd-like weapon, smashing me out of my flight. I let my stinger loose, swiping at them and them dodging it. I formed shards of dust around me, and made them fly about the clearing while spinning on a pivot, creating a veritable tornado of death. I finished my spin, with the clearing at least ten times larger and blackened like mahogany wood polished by a master. I stood up, making my way to leave, when both the Bounty Hunter and the Hunter both leapt at me, knocking me to the ground, and the Hunter prepared a finishing blow, his deep, dark green aura flickering around his weapon, when I dodged his attack, lashing out with my stinger to hit him, but the Bounty Hunter quickly shot my stinger, smashing it against a tree, with poison leaking out. Howling in rage, I brought what was left of it around and smashed him into the ground, winding him, for a while this time. The Hunter brought his weapon down, sending a vibration that knocked us all down to our knees. I felt dazed, and the Hunter seemingly equally so with the exertion of ploughing his axe four feet into the hard, compact soil. We looked at each other, each preparing for either one of his opponents to make a move to strike us with another burst of power. After an eternity passed, I heard footsteps behind me, only to see a group of four hunters, wholly outfitted with powerful equipment, and at least twenty more Judicators*, outfitted in their uniform with their lightning-edge-rifles* and their blade shields*. I growled ineffectively, and the Bounty Hunter turned from left to right. They moved in and cuffed the Bounty Hunter and the Hunter, strangely I thought, but I had little time to think on it as a blunt pain from my head sounded through my mind, and all went dark.

*effectively SWAT teams, Highly trained, though do not use dust equipment.

*Blade shields become a knife attached to the upper wrist upon rifle format.

*lightning police-grade weapons are effectively tasers.

* * *

Abraham looked around his cell for the fiftieth time. It was cold and bleak, with the walls looming over him like great grey ogres. He had never liked the city, and he disliked the prison cell even more. There was no vegetation in sight, and the odour of sweat and blood permeated the room. Inevitably his eyes wandered to his two companions. His orange uniform was itchy, horribly crafted, and it stank. He was very irritated at his surroundings, but he knew that he had to have done it to have survived. In the moment when they were all incapacitated, he took his scroll out again and summoned a Hunter team and a Judicator team as well for good measure. The remaining time was torture, and for him the time in the prison cell was as well. Luckily Doombeak had been knocked out in his collision with the humanoid creature, and so was spared being investigated as well. Abraham had been charged with breaking the slaves out, which was perfectly legal in this time. He hated it more than anything else. Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he turned his attention yet again to his two companions. The Bounty Hunter was wearing the orange uniform as well, and his name was revealed to be Drake Venari, an orphan since he was six, his family was killed by a criminal gang called Infamous co. and he was discovered to be the sole survivor of his family, after he had been discovered near the borders of the Red Forest. His eyes wandered to his other companion, a patch of complete darkness on the otherwise sickly grey wall. They tried to take his obscuring cloak off, but none would get close to him with the gleam in his eyes, and no-one wanted to know. Even the seeker force* and Prof. Ozpin together could find no information except for a few isolated sightings, one involving the Bounty Hunter, Drake. Suddenly he looked up, and Abraham looked as well. It sounded like there was a struggle. Drake, even being an experienced in-listener, could only pick out some exited strands of language. 'I didn't do it!' The voice exclaimed. 'You don't have proof!' It shouted. 'Aww come on give me a break!' It whined annoyingly.

At that moment an impassive Protector* threw a man inside. Abraham examined him. He wore a tuxedo, he was handsome and fair-faced to match, and he had holsters for what would be pistols, if the guards hadn't taken them away from him like they had done to Abraham and Drake. The man looked around in slight interest, but then slumped down like the rest of them. A very long time passed, and 'wolf' became restless. He started pacing around the room, his cloak trailing behind him, and he would stop and look at parts of the cell for a long time. Eventually he simply sat back down and growled angrily. By that time, everyone in the cell had moved to the other side, unsure of what to think of him.

I sat back down, growling angrily at my failure of finding a way out of the cage I was in at that moment. I was in a room with three humans, and no way out, and no way to kill them without killing myself, and losing all my power over my pack. Only one thing consoled me. They were afraid. I got up again, and looked at the dark steel bars. The bars were as strong as ever, with no decorations, and with no pits and cracks, but then, finally, I knew, try as I might, that I could never break them down. I sat back down and surrendered myself to the dark dreams of a Grimm with a true soul*. And a true soul meant power, if it was tempered with training. Enough power to make the world turn to stone, and the stone to ash, and the ash to blackness.

*a average police officer, charged with protecting whatever he was supposed to. In this case, the jail, and the prisoners inside.

*Vytal's police intelligence force, like the Federal Bureau of Intelligence

*by true soul I mean a soul that has not been stolen, like most typical Grimm


	8. Chapter 4

The Dark Dream

Darkness. A gleam of yellow in the dark, like the gleam of greed in an eye which has found what it has always lusted after. Darkness again. A gleam of red, dark red, filled with the blood of evil souls, and the minds of psychopaths, the glee of wolves as they descend upon the bloodied deer, and the sadistic pleasure of the spider as it watches as its prey spasms and dies in the midst of agony, the pirate's greedy satisfaction as the bloated corpse of his rival comes floating down the river, and the reflection of dragon-fire in a dragon's eyes while he burns a newborn baby alive. The gleam stayed there, as if locking eyes with me for an eternity, and only slowly did I begin to realize that there was a great thundering, and what seemed to be the infinite darkness around him was resonating with the power of it. A great booming voice came down into the darkness, and the gleam became brighter, showing itself to be an eye. The voice boomed louder, but the eye moved no more.

Suddenly the darkness burst open to show light, and the full enormity of all what was around me. A great creature stood in the opening to the light, golden scales shining in the sun, with two golden horns crowning his golden head, with two wings as enormous as castles and as strong as tempered steel, and four legs as stalwart as towers and yet as agile as an elk's. But this was merely a silly child pretending to be what children thought of kings, and his face's proud, scornful expression turned to ash when the other creature arose from the shadows. It's face was as black as black could only envy, and it's eyes were a perfect reflection of the golden creature's blood. On its forehead there was a plate of Bone, as strong and hard and cold as the bones of pure evil, and four horns, like four great towers of pain, suffering, blood, and death, rising up from a sea of bone and shadow. It's wings rose up like great waves of darkness, and its legs were like cold dark mountains, covering the world in murk. A booming voice, infused with malice and evil, echoed out of it in response to the golden creature's voice.

The dark creature lunged up out of the darkness and smashed into the other creature, knocking it over like a huge, golden, domino. The creature fought back in vain, but powerfully, tearing great fields out of the earth, and launching them into the sky, making them look like great, floating islands, before they fell back down again, making brown, uneven, hills, and great open scars in the earth. The black creature barely flinched, looking like a mountain itself, until it's mouth opened like a great gate to hell, and black and crimson flames poured out of its mouth onto the golden creature. It writhed in excruciating pain, and then fell still, as darkness crept across its body, and gold turned to black and white and red. The black creature stepped off its opponent, and beneath it was a copy of the black creature, albeit lesser in stature . The greater creature roared, and a dark pulse emanated from it. Then the creatures of Grimm emerged from the forest, and all knelt before him.

* * *

I slowly awakened, to find myself in yet another cage, although the view was nicer, it was still a cage. It was made of blackened steel, much like the last one, with no furnishings, but, more importantly, I could not break it. The outside smelled of perfume and cleanliness, and morning light sifted in lazily. I could care no less. The only thing that was deserving of my attention was the man sitting behind a desk of oak, in a brass-buttoned black shirt, a green under sweater that reached up to his neck, and a dark grey jacket with dark green jeans that reached down to his ankles. He had silver hair, and his eyes followed suit. But the only two things about him that were deserving of my attention were that he was not afraid of me and that I could not kill him. He noticed that I was awake, probably from the gleam of red under my hood, and, unfazed, stood up. He slowly walked over to me, and leant on his cane, clearly showing his infirmity, just enough so to taunt me of my inability to kill him. I growled, and ineffectually lashed out at the cage with my stinger angrily, but the man did not flinch. I was angry, but yet I bided my time, seeing if there would ever be a chance to strike him down. He stood for a long while, observing me with his silver eyes, and I settled down, prepared for the long wait before anything would change in my favour. Eventually, after what seemed days, he spoke. 'Do you have a name?' I was surprised. He had stared at me so long I thought he must have been mute, and the stupidity of the question that he was asking made me question his mind's healthiness. The Grimm do not have names. I wanted nothing more than to go and tell him how wrong he was, but I had to maintain my disguise. I growled, and smashed against the cage. He looked at me strangely, as if knowing some secret, and then said 'I know you can speak. What is your name?' I knew that I could not disclose any secrets of the Grimm, as then the humans would turn their attention towards us and we would certainly be destroyed. I could not let that happen. It would destroy my chance to drape the dark blanket of oppression over all, as is the way of the Grimm. I thought almost desperately for a name that would fool the man in front of me, and I knew I had found the perfect answer when I remembered what the guards had called me. I kept all signs of any mental struggle beneath my robe, and replied with a growl. 'Wolf' I answered. It fit. A wolf takes what it wants when it wants, and only the strongest survive to rule. It was one of the purest expressions of the way of the Grimm. I "liked it", as a human would put it in his pathetic idea of language. 'Good' The man said, interrupting my thoughts. 'I see we understand each other. My name is Professor Ozpin.'

Drake was pulled to his feet roughly by the two protectors who guarded the cell, and by their grey gloved hands, he was forced out of the cell and moved down the hall, with five Judicators behind him and five in front of him, in their parade ground red and gold. He doubted they actually expected him to do anything stupid, but they weren't taking chances. If he wasn't in such a bad situation, he would have taken it as a compliment. He was taken up stairs, and across another corridor, this one looking better than before, with polished teak floors and glossed stone walls. They hurried him along them, and as Drake thought cynically about the cleaners surely rushing behind them, frantically polishing the floors in their wake, he almost smiled. Almost. They continued down the hall, and his thoughts, like a rebellious child, wandered back to White Archer, one of his only friends in the world, and maybe something more than a friend to him.

He wondered how she was doing, and why she hasn't attempted to rescue him yet. Probably for the best. He forced his thoughts away from her and onto the task at hand, which was now getting dragged by two protectors through a corridor whose floor was made of polished teak. They went up to a double-door, made of oak, with brass doorknobs and a bronze knocker. They hesitated, and one of them said 'you want to do it?' the other protector replied 'hell no, should we draw straws?' 'Nah, besides where would we even get the straws? We should play noughts and crosses.' A third came up from behind. 'Shut up there! If no-one's going to bleeding knock on the door, I'm going to have to do it myself!' before he could do what he promised, one of the guards that who was arguing with the other quickly jumped and knocked, wincing as he did so. He then opened the doors without waiting for a reply and thrust him inside.

* * *

There was only one man in the room besides him, behind an oak desk, but then the Judicators started to come in and fan out, their rifles tilted slightly downwards, but ready to target him if need be. The man in front of him had some very interesting clothing, with a brass-buttoned black shirt, made of the finest linen, and a dark grey jacket made of the same material, looking as if it was being constantly ironed to remove even the most microscopic of wrinkles. Below his shirt he wore a green sweater made of thick cotton that kissed his neck. His jeans were dark green, and he had black, unadorned glasses, but his cane was tipped in silver. He looked at Drake strangely, and simply said 'Your knife.' Drake was surprised, yet he hid it under his years of training. He feigned ignorance, saying 'What?' He regretted it instantly, as all the Judicators around him looked unsettled, and they all raised their weapons halfway, unsure as if he was telling the truth. Unsure of what he should do himself, he looked about and saw a cup of coffee in front of him. The man sitting behind the desk noticed it caught his eye, 'By all means.' He simply said. Instinctively, he reached out to take it, but then again, too, regretted that as they all now pointed their weapons straight at Drake's head, ready to fire the instant he tried to pull out a weapon. Calming his nerves, he continued to reach out slowly, grasping the cup and pulling it inwards to his mouth. "My reputation precedes me" Drake thought to himself, then tilting his head up to drink it down. It was still hot, and very strong. He coughed violently, almost gagging at the incredibly strong coffee.

After his coughing fit ended, he slowly looked up at the man again, meeting his gaze. He had a very slight smirk on his face, and asked almost innocently, 'So how was the coffee?' Drake responded awkwardly, caught off guard by his question 'ermm, yes it was good, good, very good, just a little bit hot that's all.' The man looked incredulously at him, still with that irritating smirk enameled onto his face, and said finally 'that still leaves the question of the knife, does it not?' Drake sighed deeply, knowing that the battle was lost for him, at least for the moment. 'It's in my right boot' he muttered glumly, and a Judicator quickly reached out and removed the knife from his boot, wary of him and any more hidden knives. The man spoke again 'I believe that means we are on equal terms now, Drake Venari, I believe?' he extended a hand 'My name is Professor Ozpin.'


	9. Chapter 5

An Old Friend

**A/N If you didn't know already, this fan fiction includes graphic scenes. So yeah, no children should be reading this, and so if you are still reading this, be prepared.**

**Mazon48: Oh yeah, I didn't mean sex. Anyhow, on a brighter note, I will be including these authors notes from now on. There will be more later on. So, disclaimers. I do not own RWBY, Marvel, or anything else I manage to take inspiration out of. The only things that belong to me are my OCs' and my additions to the RWBY universe. **

**P.S. **_**Hail Hydra.**_

Abraham waited patiently in the cell. "Wolf" and Drake had already been taken away for a few days now, and it was only a matter of time before they took him away as well, and he could get this whole dreadful business sorted out. He hoped. Luckily, two Protectors eventually came to the door. 'Hey Abraham, Professor's asked for your presence. Again.' he said exhaustedly 'Really, I'm wondering if you even like me,' he scoffed, 'with the way you've been disrespecting the law, it seems you actually _want_ to break the law, and if you disrespect the law, you know, you're disrespecting me, right? Now where have I heard that before?' he trailed off into his line of thought. Abraham waited with barely bated breath, and a baleful glare sour enough to wither a heart-tree. Eventually the Protector seemed to come back to reality. 'Don't look at me like that, Abraham, just thinking like you _always_ do, it wasn't like I was teasing you or anything.' Abraham was not amused. The Protector babbled on yet again. 'Ok, ok, you've made your point, I'll shut up, can you come with me now?' Abraham was spared the indignity of being dragged, and the horror of the protector's voice. When they made it to the double-door made from oak, with a brass doorknob and knocker, the Protector slipped away. Good riddance. Abraham knocked on the door, annoyed and slightly anxious at when the man inside would answer the door. Luckily he did not have long to wait. As the door opened he was treated to the glow of sunshine through a large window, and the stern face of his father-figure. He was obviously exhausted, for some reason. He gestured to a seat in front of his desk. Abraham immediately complied, and sat down, quickly making himself comfortable. Professor Ozpin slumped down into his chair, and then took a deep gulp of his coffee, which livened him up, as it usually did. He then jumped straight into the questioning. 'Why did you call the hunters? Did you rescue the slaves? What happened with that strange Grimm?' Abraham was shocked at the outburst from his usually reserved father figure, and paused, before answering his questions decidedly. 'I called the hunters because that _thing _was too strong, and-'

'Just tell me the whole story. From the beginning'

* * *

Drake knew he couldn't stay in the cell forever. He was in there with some kind of pervert and a monster, and he had little hope of him surviving, or even worse. He shuddered at what they would do with his corpse. They all needed a way out, fast. But Drake needed a plan. Unfortunately, he could not accomplish it on his own, and, sadly, he knew he was going to have to ask both of them for help. Deciding to get over the worst part, he sat next to Wolf, hoping to start a conversation. 'Ermmmm...Hi?' "Wolf" only growled. 'Alright so maybe we got off on the wrong foot. So Ermmmm... Yeah. Forgive and forget right?' "Wolf" started to get up. Quickly, Drake whispered loudly 'I want the same as you want! Escape, right?' "Wolf" continued to move away. 'We're going to kill things, blood! You like that, right? There's going to be plenty of it.'

"Wolf" turned around and growled hungrily. Drake's face lit up in hope. 'You in?'

"Wolf" growled out an answer. 'Only the strongest will survive.'

'I'll take that as a yes, then.' Drake quickly went over to talk to the pervert. 'Hey, can you help us escape?'

He looked surprised and disgusted at the same time. 'You're escaping with some crazy black monster thing!'

'And you're a pervert who is probably going to get castrated tomorrow.'

'Good point'.

All three of them gathered around the door. 'Ok so now we need a plan. Hey, do you think you can pick the lock or somethi-' Suddenly, "Wolf" ripped the entire door off its hinges,

'OH HOLY CRAP!'

Drake asked, still panicked 'Why didn't you do that before!?' "Wolf"**(A/N: Yes I will keep doing that because "Wolf" is a stupid name for a Grimm. Why? Because I said so.)** only shrugged.

Sirens started to go off. Peacebringers**(A/N I will stop having the apostrophes now, any information you want will be in the soon-to-be published bestiary)** flooded the room. 'Alright guys, _this_ is why we have a plan!' Drake exclaimed, pointing at the incoming Peacebringers. Sighing, Drake said, 'Ok, let's find a way to get ou-'

"Wolf" charged into battle with a howl for blood, tripping five of the Peacebringers with his stinger.

* * *

'Things would be _much_ better right now, if someone could stop interrupting me!' Drake said, directing a glare upon "Wolf", before charging into battle himself.

"Wolf" stabbed his right claw into one unlucky man's gut, dragging him up to look into his eyes. The man was shaking like a trapped rabbit with no chance of living. "Wolf" ripped his head off his shoulders with his left claw, still looking into that empty space where the man's head used to be. Then "Wolf" ripped off a good half of the man's head with his teeth. And then he swallowed. And then he howled.

Drake started to fight the Peacebringers, seemingly vanishing into the plentiful shadows, then appearing again behind one of them, saying 'sorry' in supplication to some uncaring being, before snapping his neck with a silent crack. Drake slid back into the shadows as lithely as a panther, taking the man's weapon with him.

Nathan summoned an apparition of himself, identical in body, but incorporeal, and moved it like a puppet towards one of the Peacebringers. Nathan was not particularly strong, but was powerful in spirit, tongue, and in bed. But the Peacebringer didn't know that. Drake materialised behind the distracted Peacebringer and tased him in the back of the head with his comrade's weapon, picking up the other weapon and transforming it into its baton form, then rushing off into the thick of the combat against the other ten Peacebringers. Nathan sighed disdainfully. He had never liked the thick of the fighting, preferring to kill his enemy from afar, indirectly. It gave him more time with the ladies, anyway. He knew that there was nothing much else he could do in the ferocious close combat of the battle, so he stood back, waiting for any time at which he could use his powers to good effect.

Wolf ripped into the humans, lost in the blood frenzy, a tornado of claws, a twister of blood. He swiped an uppercut with his stinger under one of the Peacebringer's guard, wrenching him into the air, following in pursuit like an eagle swooping inexorably towards a dove, with nothing to stop it's slaughter. Closing his eyes, Wolf found the area where the man's ribcage met, and opened his eyes. For a second he saw the man's expression of fearful, primitive, comprehension, before it disappeared in a seemingly endless shower of gore as Wolf ripped the man's ribcage apart into two sections.

Drake took down two of the distracted Peacebringers, then quickly transformed his weapons into pistol form and shot two others. The last Peacebringer started to run up the concrete stairs to the right, while Drake started turning to acquire the final target. Suddenly the man turned around and started to run back down the stairs, but not before Drake finished his turn, dropped to one knee, and shot both of the pistols in the man's back. The man stumbled to the ground, unconscious.

Drake shook himself out of the mist of the dance of death, and saw anew the horror that "Wolf" had caused. A head rolled over, the lower jaw separated from the rest of the head, a man with a rough tear through his abdomen, his guts spilling out like string, and over it all was a gruesome layer of blood, eyes, teeth, tongues, and an uncountable amount of other body parts. Drake used all of his self-control to stop himself from retching, and almost ran to the door, wanting nothing more than to get away from the smell of blood, flesh, maggots, and stomach acid, the grotesque carpet of blood and innards, and the obscene mangle of arms twisting through bodies, legs splayed out , kneecaps horrifically reversed so their feet touched their stomachs, and heads half-eaten, eyes glassed over, spinning on a nerve, still kept in grotesque movement by the forces that ripped the eye out. "Wolf".

'They didn't have to die.'

'Only the strongest survive.' replied Wolf, and Drake could imagine the horrific smirk spreading on Wolf's face.

**A/N If you were disturbed with the end of this chapter, good. You should be.**


	10. Chapter 6

Escape and Recruitment

**Mazon48: Hi y'all, today will be another action segment, more storytelling next chapter hopefully.**

Drake, determined to lead the way, stood at a crossroads. 'So... Which way to the armoury?' He said, almost to himself.

'Well, it may be the way with the giant "armoury" sign above it.' Nathan pointed out.

Brushing off the awkwardness, Drake spoke. 'Well, we're going that way then.'

They walked down the corridor, still made of rough concrete, stinking of stale sweat and blood. "Wolf" had brought some along with him, he supposed, and looked behind him. Wolf's robes were no longer black, but dark red, saturated with blood. Turning back to look forward hastily, he kept on walking.

"Wolf" could smell the distinct smell of gunpowder and dust, his sense of smell far beyond that of his "allies", and once again his thoughts turned to betrayal, to killing. He barely restrained himself with an excited shudder, remembering the destruction he could cause if he merely bided his time. Finally, as the group arrived at the armoury, the smell of the instruments of human destruction reached the noses of his "allies" pathetic sense of smell.

"Well, let's try to find our equipment and get out of here." said Drake, looking around for his Nightingale, Ursa's claws, and throwing knives, as Nathan looked for his Silver Bloods. "Wolf" merely stood there impatiently, looking aimlessly around. 'Thank goodness he's not running off again' Thought Drake, and he turned back to finding his weapons. Nathan was the first to find his weapons, twirling his pistols on his fingers, before strapping his holsters on and holstering his weapons. Drake then found his Ursa's claws, putting them in the elastic of his orange prisoner's wear with a grimace. He then pulled out his Nightingale and his knives, strapping his bandoliers of knives around his body, and securing the Nightingale through the loops in them. He then got up, finally finding his mask, guessing which direction to go, and striding off purposefully. Wolf followed leisurely, while Nathan got up to Drake, speaking to him.

"So what's the plan?" Nathan asked.

"We get out of Beacon." Drake responded

"How the hell are we going to do that?"

"By running." And Drake broke off into a sprint, Nathan muttering something under his breath about having an actual plan before running off after him. "Wolf" started to run after them, using his stinger to propel himself around corners, not wanting to be missing a chance to cull humans. He laughed to himself, a hollow, sadistic laugh, as he thought how well humans can kill themselves, given the chance.

Drake rounded the corner, hoping to find that it led to the outside, where they had the advantage. He was brought face-to-face with a Judicator team of ten to twenty men, as well as the hunter in the forest he had seen a few days ago. Cursing under his breath, he shot his Nightingale to increase his momentum, smashing through the judicators, with Nathan sprinting behind him, trying to avoid being caught by the Judicators.

Abraham rushed down the hallways, keeping pace with Professor Ozpin as they tried to intercept the Bounty Hunter, the Pervert, and "Wolf". The corridors changed from polished teak to rough concrete, and the corridors changed from the pleasant scent of wood, to the stale sweat of students and prisoners both. They turned a corner to the sound of a few Judicator teams getting ready, just before the Bounty Hunter suddenly turned around the corner in front of them, cursing under his breath before smashing through the ranks of the Judicators, The Pervert following close behind him, both sprinting too quickly for anyone to catch. Then "Wolf" spun around the corner, coming towards them as fast as fate, and they were too busy defending themselves to think of much else.

Drake smashed through the Judicators and through to the gardens in Beacon, thanking god for taking mercy on him. He rushed through the gardens, green with well-trimmed hedges, wanting to get to the airships as soon as possible, not sure if anyone was behind him, and not really caring.

"Wolf" fell upon the startled Judicators, swiping an upraised shield out of his way before swinging his stinger at the Hunter, stabbing into his shoulder, who quickly pulled it out, but "Wolf" was already rushing towards Abraham, the momentum of his stinger making him practically fly through the air. Abraham had barely enough time to tilt his head out of the way before "Wolf" slashed at him, leaving five light scratches on his cheek.

"Wolf" continued running, needing to catch up to his allies, caring nothing more for the Hunter he had passed than for the ripe blueberry bushes he slashed great gouges in as he passed.

Drake stopped at the sight of the airfield, panting, with Nathan behind him. He quickly caught his breath, and stepped out, looking for a fast airsh- 'Hey, Drake, over here!'

* * *

'What!?' He immediately raised his weapon, looking around suspiciously

'In front of you, doofus.'**(A/N Yes, it's a word.)**

Drake looked up, and saw White Archer**(A/N Remember her?)**, waving out the window, an annoyed expression on her face. Too tired to ask any more questions, Drake and Nathan clambered onboard the airship, moving towards the cockpit. As soon as Nathan saw White Archer, he immediately went into seductive mode. 'Hey, beautiful.' he purred in his most seductive voice, he was sure that no woman could resis-

Nathan felt a strange sensation of falling, slowly and beautifully, like he always was, except maybe a bit faster, and more handsome, and- he cut his thoughts out, telling himself that he was nothing like the sensation he was feeling. Then it all came back and he quailed, before smacking into some very hard, metal stairs, and the sound of a door clunking shut from... somewhere, as he had lost all sense of direction. He moaned in pain annoyingly, and to his surprise, the door opened. He knew they would help. 'Can we throw him off now?' A female voice sounded somewhere above him. This did not compute with him. A woman, rejecting him? And wanting to push _him_ off an airship, handsome, irresistible, _him?_

His curiosity was replaced with fear as he processed what she had said, but before he could prepare himself for a fall off the airship, he heard shouts from around a corner, and his kind-of friend ushering the sadistic woman away from him, up the stairs again and the sounds of the engine starting. He sighed in relief, getting up, and quickly looking around. The airship, unlike the huge, extravagant ones that they used to transport students, was spartan in decoration, the only seating being a metal shelf welded into the back of the cargo bay. The rest of the bay was filled with cargo boxes, probably containing ammunitions, Dust, and rations. Nathan looked back towards the half-open military-style out-sideways airship door, and the rapidly retreating tarmac. His eyes drew him to a black-cloaked figure who he immediately recognised, followed by a group of Judicators, the other person who he met in the cell, and an old man with a cane, who Nathan knew he should know, but he wasn't from around Vale. He started to close the door.

"Wolf" looked up at the ascending airship, and it's closing door was zoomed in by his mind, seeing clearly the doors metallic glint, and instinctively knowing the distance he would need to be at. All was in place. "Wolf" ran full pelt on all fours, before coming onto the airfield, grappling onto a plane wing, using his momentum in a pendulum motion to propel himself vertically into the air. He righted himself in the air, before lashing his stinger out, into the closing door and pulled himself violently into the airship, jerking the airship towards him.

Nathan was about to close the door, when an all-too-familiar stinger stabbed into the doorframe, making him jump, before the stinger tensed, and the ship was wrenched in its direction as that _monster_ flew into the room. Nathan whipped out his Silver Bloods, preparing for a desperate last fight, but the monster merely walked past him, muttering something to itself as it stalked towards the cockpit.

'We had a rule about using my name.' stated Drake, glaring at White Archer, his mask now on, covering up his black hair and turquoise eyes, and the faint scar that ran down from just above his left eyebrow and down to his right cheek. Instead, the mask stared at her, machinery sleekly functioning in myriad tasks such as life support and information filtering, all hiding his true face. It saddened her to see him put himself through this, that he couldn't embrace himself as a person, as a human being. 'White Archer?' She shook herself back to reality, chiding herself on staying too long in her own thoughts. 'Yeah, sorry.' She muttered noncommittally.

'I hope you are.' said Drake dubiously, before returning his absolute attention to the controls, remembering that they were being pursued by some very annoyed Judicators, as well as a Hunter, in the middle of Beacon, one of the most prestigious academies on Remnant. This was going to be hard. Suddenly, the airship was jerked back nearer to the airfield, a very loud clunk sounding from the cargo bay just after. Drake quickly took out the Nightingale, jumped out of the bare steel seat, and dropped to one knee before the door, Nightingale at the ready. The door opened, and Drake almost shot his weapon before he recognised who it was. He kept his gun trained on "Wolf", while he merely walked in, noting another person in the cockpit, while looking at the expansive cockpit, with analogue buttons, levers, and joysticks, all controlling elevation, flight patterns, and velocity.**(A/N This is set a generation before RWBY, so most of the equipment is analogue)** White Archer quickly spun around, splitting her bow into three pieces, the grip and the two limbs, bringing the string to lock into the grip, and unsheathing the limbs into daggers, so that her bow was transformed into two daggers attached by the bowstring to the grip, so it could be swung around as a deadly cutting weapon. Before White Archer could attack "Wolf", Drake rushed up to her and put a hand on her shoulder looking into her eyes as an all-right gesture. White Archer quickly turned her weapon back into its bow form, her practice, led by Drake, or Sabre as he liked to be called, giving her incredible speed. A knock sounded at the cockpit door, and everyone turned around to face the noise. "Wolf" looked with an uncaring disdain at the door, Drake's, or rather Sabre's emotion was unknowable through his mask, while White Archer was staring daggers at the door. Before anyone could say anything, something exploded. White Archer spun back to look at the controls. 'Fudging Sugar!' They began to rapidly descend, while White Archer quickly tried to realign the ship, while censoring herself loudly. Drake clambered into the seat next to her and started pressing buttons and pulling levers maniacally, assisting White Archer, trying to stop the airship from crashing.

Abraham ran full pelt towards the taking off airship, desperately thinking of a plan to disable it, and quickly thought of one. 'One of you!' Abraham addressed the Judicators, a plan three steps ahead of the action. 'Shield boost me up!' Abraham slowed down while one of the Judicators ran ahead of him, kneeling down on the tarmac, raising his shield above him, waiting for Abraham. Abraham picked up speed, sprinting towards the Judicator while concentrating his aura. As he stepped onto the shield, the Judicator pushed his shield upwards, launching Abraham into the air. Abraham narrowed his vision onto the escaping airship, bringing his weapon to bear in one aura-powered throw. He threw the Night-Wither at the airship's engine, hitting the target dead on with his training, punching through the engine, destroying it. Abraham gulped, before he began to fall back down. A few yards away, the airship crashed.

Sabre stumbled out of the airship, giving Nathan and White Archer a hand. "Wolf" refused any help they might give him. They all stumbled out of the airship, brushing off the dust while they all searched for a way out of Beacon, and rummaging around in the wreck for their weapons. Sabre quickly tapped everyone on the shoulder, alerting them to the rapidly approaching squad of Judicators. Sabre quickly grabbed some of the shrapnel pieces, dropping to one knee and planting the Nightingale into the ground with its blade, flicking out the trigger, the bolt, and the scope from the notches in the Nightingale. Sabre then loaded the shrapnel into the Nightingale, firing upon the Judicators. Most of the shots were deflected or evaded, but one or two found their mark, as one of the Judicators keeled over from a stomach wound. White Archer turned her weapon into blade form, preparing for close combat, while Nathan shot his Silver Bloods at the Judicators, taking down another. Half of the Judicators suddenly dropped to one knee, firing their weapons into the group, while the other Judicators charged unimpeded.

"Wolf" ignored the bullets the others feared, and charged straight into the advancing charge. He leaped over a low swung swipe of a sword, catching an overhand blade swing and deflecting it, before leaping upon one of the Judicators. He ducked under one of the Judicators' swings, catching him in a quick claw slash, quickly upper cutting him with his claws, before "Wolf" jumped back, narrowly avoiding a counter shield bash, before he used his stinger to latch onto another Judicator, grappling onto them, before jumping in and knocking them over. She was a female, with black hair and hazel-nut eyes. "Wolf" ripped her throat out. Getting up, "Wolf" saw one of the Judicators charge towards him, a faint force-field rippling up around him. Before "Wolf" could do anything, he was bull rushed by the Judicator. "Wolf" clawed madly at the Judicator, but his force-field protected him. The Judicator screamed at the top of his lungs in rage, turning his sword into a gun, and firing it repeatedly into the cowl of "Wolf" until "Wolf" collapsed, knocked unconscious from the amount of lightning gone into his body.

Sabre and Nathan, pinned down by the suppressive fire, hid in the wreck of the ship. They quickly went to the cockpit to see if they could scale one of the nearby cliffs. But the Judicators threw in a taser grenade, electrocuting them both so they passed out. White Archer swung her weapon in its blade form, incapacitating one of the Judicators with a slice across the armpit, almost severing his arm, and slicing another Judicator with a scratch on one cheek. She continued to swing her weapon, the two blades leaving scratches on everyone, before two Judicators caught the wires of her weapon, pulling the wires taut so that she flew forward onto another Judicator's fist, knocking her out cold.

* * *

Drake came to, feeling his body for any wounds. His entire body was sore. Drake opened his eyes to a view from a window. Drake tested his body for bonds, and found that his arms and legs were cuffed to a chair. Sighing mentally in resignation, Drake took in the sunset from the window. He beheld the entranceway to Beacon, with the beowolf statue and fountains, the well-kept gardens, and the lampposts, now being lit by some of the maintenance crew. Drake now drew his eyes to the sunset. The colours ranged from an orange peach, all the way to a deep purple. It was undeniably one of the better sunsets Drake had seen, no longer obscured by smog from the city. He looked at his immediate surroundings, seeing his escapees sitting next to him, also bound, but still unconscious. Drake heard footsteps behind him, but he couldn't turn to see who it was. Professor Ozpin walked around in front of Drake. Drake tried to say something, but all that came out was a garbled mess.

'The Taser grenades have the unfortunate side effect of scrambling speech patterns for a while. In a few minutes you should be able to speak normally. Coffee?' Ozpin said, presenting a cup of coffee. Drake politely refused through gestures, remembering his last encounter with Professor Ozpin's coffee. They waited for a few awkward minutes as the others came to, and as Drake and Nathan repeatedly tried to speak. Finally Drake was able to form words. 'Do we have a sentence?' He asked, fearing for how long they would have to stay in prison.

'Well, since you were all accomplices, you will share a communal sentence, let's see... 10 counts of murder, around 20 counts of assault, breaking and entering, hijack of vehicle, littering... that would be... 50 years for all of you, at best.' A woman said from behind the escapees

'Thank you, Glynda. Now, I'm supposing none of you want that kind of sentence.' Everyone except "Wolf" shook their heads vigorously, while "Wolf" merely shrugged. Ignoring "Wolf", Ozpin continued 'So, we are offering an alternative.'

'We are?' Glynda asked, confused.

'Yes, Glynda.' Ozpin continued in his calm tones. 'I have organised the paperwork,' the escapees looked confused, but Ozpin still continued 'So, if there are no objections,' he paused for a moment, 'I will assume you will take me up on this offer. Welcome to Beacon.' Ozpin waited a while for the news to sink in. White Archer first spoke up. 'But, isn't that more like, an honour or something?'

Ozpin continued, ignoring her 'You will be treated like normal hunters and huntresses in training, except that you will be placed under surveillance, and you are not allowed to leave the city of Vale. although "Wolf", you will be resting in a secured location until you earn our trust. That is all. You will be sleeping in the ballroom tonight, take two lefts and a right.'

The escapees sat there, unsure how to get out of their bindings.

'The handcuffs aren't locked.' Ozpin stated.

Everyone quickly freed themselves, and started to shuffle away awkwardly, still sore from their encounter.

When they all left, Glynda Goodwitch turned back to look at Professor Ozpin in a fury. 'You just let five highly dangerous individuals, one of them a creature of Grimm, no less, go, and not only that, gave them access to some of the best equipment and training on Remnant!'

Professor Ozpin turned back to look around calmly, and said 'Their problems will take care of themselves, and anyways, we are always in search of good material to make into hunters.'

Glynda Goodwitch calmed herself before responding. 'Talking of good material, that Judicator, the one that took down that monster-'

'I have already sent him up here to report.'

* * *

Both the teachers heard the door opening, as a red faced, furious, Judicator charged into the room. 'I fought that god damned monster, and now you're letting him run loose! What are you doing?' He shouted, while Ozpin barely flinched

'If we had put him in jail, he would have escaped. If we give him something to kill, he will not. On a brighter note, how would you like something new to do?' Ozpin said, placating the Judicator.

'I'm in.' Said the Judicator. _He is very compulsive _thought Ozpin to himself.

'Well then,' said Ozpin 'Welcome to Beacon.'

'Alright, as long as I can eat chicken.'

Ozpin sighed. 'Yes, there is chicken served in the mess hall. Tonight, you will sleep in the ballroom, take two lefts and a right. Inform your leader of your resignation. I also believe you will want to retrieve your weapons. You will have need of them.'

**Wahoo! I think that was one of my longest chapters yet! A few of the next chapters will be written by my friend, also, this story is behind a generation from RWBY's story, so there will be no clashes (much).**

**Song of the day:"Everybody wants to rule the world"**


	11. Chapter 7

**A/N DalastJedi: Sorry for releasing the chapter only after so long. We'll try to keep at a steady pace again(No promises). Keep your heads on out there.**

A Candle in Night

Drake leaned against the wall and wiped the dust and dried blood off the blades of his Nightingale, under the darkness of one of the overlooks. After Drake had reclaimed his things-minus his on-hand money-and a positioning tag, along with the pervert that he later came to know as Nathan, and White Archer. Drake ate a light dinner in the mess hall and found a dark corner to hole up in the ballroom. He didn't know what happened to the black creature, Wolf, but he caught a glimpse of a group of Hunters hauling him down into what looked like a basement.

Night had fallen over Vale, and while Drake would have preferred to sit by the window, he felt it best to be observant of things around him, just for today. Drake had just finished wiping down the V-shaped blade of the Nightingale, and was now wiping the axe-like blade on the other end of his weapon. Drake gave a menacing look to any students who walked by him or looked at him.

As Drake watched all the first-year students settle in to their sleeping places, laying out blankets and sleeping bags, Drake thought about escaping. In the dead of night, when no one was looking, he could just quickly make a break for it. But then what? He would once again become a fugitive, and this time, he had a feeling that the Hunter with the axe would come looking for him. Drake had made the decision to work here out of some sub-conscious thought. He didn't think it through, nor could he explain it. It just felt... right. And then there was White Archer, he hadn't seen her since he left the mess hall and it would take time to find her and coordinate an escape with her. All in all, it wasn't worth it. "And who knows," Drake thought to himself, "Maybe you'll come to like this lifestyle."

Drake spotted said axe-wielding Hunter across the ballroom. He hadn't noticed Drake as he watched him lie down by the window. "Guess the window-seat's already taken" Drake thought to himself. Drake placed the Nightingale, leaning against the wall next to him. He then removed his Ursus' Claws and wiped the end of the barrel of both firearms. Drake felt himself drift into sleep.

No.

Not Yet.

Ozpin had also confiscated his Recall* Medicine when he went through his inventory for anything illegal. If there was one thing Drake was afraid of, it was his Recall Syndrome*. All the same, Drake pulled his black hood up in case he dosed off, to avoid being seen by onlookers-like it even mattered anymore.

As Drake finished cleaning his weapons, he put them at his side and leaned against the wall. His eyelids felt heavy as he let the darkness embrace him as he cleared his thoughts in anticipation of sleep.

Sleep. Dark, bottomless sleep.

'Hi Dra-Sabre.' Called a cheery but soft voice, almost like a whisper. After that, Drake could feel a bright light on him. Drake opened his eyes to see White Archer. She held a candlestick as she sat down next to him. 'I just saw you sitting here by yourself and I thought, y'know...' she mumbled off into nonsense.

Drake squinted as he looked at the candle. 'Did you have to bring the light?' The darkness around them had disappeared and had been replaced with a dim light.

So much for a peaceful night.

'I could put it out if you don't like it.' Nicole suggested looking sad. Drake sighed, 'It's fine.' The two companions sat in silence, Nicole never taking her eyes off Drake. 'How did you know where I was?' Drake tried to start a conversation. 'Huh?' 'I mean how did you know I was in Beacon?' Drake clarified. 'Oh, your mask gives off a signal remember. When you didn't get back, I just... followed the signal to here. Then I heard the alarms and had a feeling it was you.' Nicole said as she threw a blanket over herself, marking that she wasn't going anywhere. 'I didn't know you knew how to fly an airship.' Drake quirked, interested all of a sudden. 'I, uh, well, I don't.' Drake raised an eyebrow. 'So you just what? Hoped we wouldn't crash once we took off?' 'No.' Nicole folded her arms defensively. 'I found the manual under the chair.'

Drake simply sighed and slump his shoulders, trying his best to relax with Nicole next to him. He had practiced his calm facade in front of her before, but it was hard to be so cold around someone practically radiating energy. 'Couldn't you have planned a better rescue?' Drake said as he turned to look at her. 'It was the first thing that came to my mind.' Nicole said as she twiddled her thumbs. 'I'm sorry.' Her gaze turned towards the floor and her head drooped. "Darn is she cute." Drake thought to himself. He sighed again, feeling bad for her. 'It's fine.' Immediately, her attitude peaked upwards and her head shot upwards, attentively. 'Just next time you plan a rescue, it better work.'

Nicole leaned on Drake's shoulder. 'C'mon boss, it's not like I haven't planned a rescue before.' Drake had the urge to just push her away right then and there, the feeling that she had invaded his personal space was overwhelming. But at the same time, Drake was afraid of hurting her feelings any further. 'Ok fine, maybe some of your earlier rescues may have been better.' Nicole's head perked up, 'Really? Which ones?'

Drake searched his mind for a response. Nicole had proven her capabilities time and time again, but Drake was her mentor, and he needed to be firm with her. 'Well, there was about a week ago. At the library.' 'Oh, yeah. With the Chelybs.' Drake went back to that moment. When he had been collecting books about the different locations around the four kingdoms for Wolf and was knocked out by the robot guards. He faintly remembered Nicole killing the Chelybs and taking him to safety. 'Yeah, when I specifically told you to wait at the hideout.' Drake remarked as to remind her of his initial instruction. 'What were you doing following me anyway?' Drake asked, never asking the question before.

Nicole shrugged and smiled the biggest, most innocent smile she could muster. Drake just groaned and let the matter slide. 'And of course there was that one time with Marwel.' Drake recollected. 'Oh yeah, that's how I found out your name.' Drake closed his eyes as he remembered the day.

Drake had never actually revealed his name to Nicole. He told her it would be good for her to find out his name by herself. One night out in the south-western forests of Vale, returning from a job in a small town community, He and Nicole were ambushed by a group of mercenaries. In the heat of it all, he got separated from Nicole and was knocked out.

When Sabre came to his senses, his hands and legs were tied up and he was strapped to a chair. Sabre's eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the single light above him. His mask was removed. He could vaguely make out several shapes in the darkness. All of them armed except for the one grey-haired, middle aged man standing in front of him. 'It's been a while, Drake. You seem to be managing well.' Sabre recognised that voice, and the fact that he knew Sabre's real name meant that it could only be one person. Sabre chuckled, 'It's been a while since anyone's called me that.' The figure backed away slightly, 'Yes, I know about your new alias, Sabre.' The voice was very cold and had a hint of anger in it. There was a pause before the voice spoke again. 'It's a good name. I actually like it a lot.' The voice said in a more friendly tone. 'Thanks. How about you Marwel,' at the moment, Marwel stepped under the light. 'How are you doing?' Sabre tried to match Marwel's friendly tone, which was hard considering that he knew Marwel didn't abduct him just to say "Hi". 'Oh, you know. This and that. Been visiting old friends.' Marwel leaned in towards Sabre and his expression became less friendly. 'Oh yeah, and there was that small matter of being privately imprisoned.'

There was a moment where Sabre saw a movement among the support beams above. When Sabre focused slowly, he saw the unmistakable figure of White Archer. 'Look, I can explain.' Sabre started before Marwel pointed a finger at him. 'I don't want to hear it. You. Betrayed. Me.' Sabre glanced up at White Archer with a look that said, "Anytime now." When he glanced at her again, he could make out she was smiling and shaking her head. Sabre had no idea what she was waiting for, but he made a guess it was just to listen to the story that was starting. She did like to poke at him for information on his life, but surely this wasn't the time. 'Look, we were up against unbeatable odds. We both knew that.' Marwel just shook his head. 'We could've both made it, but you bailed out on me.' Drake slowly shook his head. 'You just had to take every bit of Dust they had in that warehouse didn't you?' 'I was going to make us rich.' Marwel forced Sabre to look at him. 'But you just had to think about yourself first.' Sabre was about to say something, but Marwel beat him to it. 'You see my... hosts, made a deal with me.' Marwel turned around and faced his back to Sabre. 'If I were to apprehend every merc responsible for the heist, they would let me go.' He gestured to the guards around him. 'They gave me a ton of extra arms, but in the end, I was the one to take them down.' He put his hand around his ear. 'Ain't that right, Frank?' he asked one of the guards. 'Yes, sir.' Frank replied in a monotone voice. Marwel turned back to face Sabre, his voice was a hushed whisper. 'I've taken down Michel, Talia, even Rand.' Marwel's face was mere inches away from Sabre's. 'I've saved the best for last.' He said with malice. 'You would turn on your own team for freedom?' Sabre was trying to stall and give off as much information he felt comfortable with to Nicole, guessing that was the only way to get out of this. 'Necessity. Right, Drake. Necessity comes before anything else. Before love, before attachments, before promises.' Marwel backed away slowly. 'Their deaths are on your hand.' 'No, they're on yours.' Drake shot back. Marwel just chuckled manically. 'I wanna kill you, so bad.' This time, Sabre coughed a laugh. 'So why don't you? Quick and easy, not to mention I'm tied up.' Marwel shook his head. 'Unfortunately, my employers want you alive to do who-knows-what to you, so I'm just gonna have to settle for this,' Sabre saw Marlew's fist coming, but could do nothing to stop it from hitting. 'until they get here.'

Sabre looked up again at White Archer, but couldn't read her expression because his vision was still dazed from the punch. 'I have to say, beating you and the girl was easier than I expected.' Disappointment in his tone 'Where'd she come from anyway?' Sabre chuckled Marwel punched him again. 'What's so funny huh?' Marwel said through his gritted teeth. Sabre just looked up and said, 'Why don't you ask her?' before an arrow came down and pierced a guards' shoulder. Then another, and another before anyone found the source. 'Up there!' shouted one of the guards before being hit by an arrow through his skull which gave off a thick cloud of smoke. Sabre heard wild shots from the guards as more smoke-arrows came down around them. After a few seconds, Sabre felt someone tugging at his restraints around his hands. 'So, Drake huh?' came a familiar voice in the form of a whisper. 'I'll explain later, the whole story.' And with that, he felt his hands come loose. He quickly grabbed the collar of Marwel's shirt and headbutt him before undoing the rope around his feet. When he got up and the smoke cleared slightly, he could see White Archer fighting off the guards. Sabre saw his equipment across the room and quickly put on his mask and his weapons. With the mask, he could see bodies through the smoke. He saw Marwel getting up and quickly took a running start and kicked him in the head. 'Let's go!' he called out to White Archer. He was about to take off, but not before crouching down next to Marwel, 'No hard feelings.' With that, he got up and took off, White Archer following close behind. As he exited the warehouse, he knew he had some explaining to do.

'You never told me how you got away from the soldiers Marwel sent to attack us.' By this point, Drake was far from tired. Nicole just looked up at him and smiled, 'Just a little Nicole awesomeness.' Drake just smiled lightly and patted her on the head. 'Good job.' Nicole's face lit up like a firework. 'Now get to sleep or you'll probably die tomorrow.' Nicole nuzzled her head into Drake's shoulder, 'You got it.' Drake just sighed with exasperation and closed his eyes, but not before feeling a gentle peck on his cheek. Drake was initially startled by this, but when he opened his eyes to see Nicole smiling sheepishly, pretending to be asleep, he just closed his eyes, let out a long, drawn out breath, and hoped the redness in his face would go away.


	12. Chapter 8

The Dreaming of Wolves, and The Beginnings of Hunters

**Mazon48: Part of this episode will be a history filler, not completely necessary, but hopefully it will include some interesting lore. Enjoy.**

**P.S. Other part of this episode will be story-orientated like (hopefully, if my friend hasn't messed up) the last chapter.**

**P.S.S. Disclaimers. RWBY does not belong to me, or else the Grimm would be a LOT more badass.**

Man rose from dust, beast as well as man, darkness within light, self-destroying. None could live safe lives, and Bezerkers plundered the land for blood. Dragons, large as kingdoms, wingspans of continents, reigned supreme. Two brothers, a stone of darkness, its purest form, its heart, made to bring balance. Evil protects humanity from itself. One brother casts off into darkness and oblivion, another into the brightness of fledgling humanity. All for the balance. Such sacrifice.

Light. Rebuilding. Four kingdoms. Greatness springs from the blackness, and light into the shadows was put. Dragons come, and all quail. Rising from the dust again, dragon-slayers. Hunters. A man picks up his blade, looking up at the impossible creature above him. Raising his blade, he gives an indomitable battle cry. The strength of men is in courage. Dragon-Fire comes to consume him, but five hundred more come to take his place. They begin their climb to destiny. Many of them die, but one survives. He runs up the Dragon's back, ready to take on this destroyer of Humanity. He stabs through the Dragon's eye, climbing through, swimming through rivers of blood, fighting the beasts of the Dragon's magic that live inside. The hero reaches the heart. Nothing ever lasts forever. The Dragon tumbles down onto the ground. From the bones of Dragons comes Dust, strength of Humanity. Five kingdoms. Miracles of ancient wonder. Icarus, Sky-Thunder, indomitable fortress, home to thousands. Weapons of mysticism, a shield and a sword, a key, to unlock the greatest of heroes. The greatest of fortresses for the most precious of artefacts. Nothing ever lasts forever.

The Sun's Doom awakens, and all is plunged into eternal darkness. Icarus falls. The moon is shattered. The Wastes are born. Creatures of Darkness. The Bezerkers rise again, the spinners spin a great web of doom. The sun's light is silenced. The bones of Dragons. The strength of Dust. Upon the ruins of Humanity, a hero is forged. Nothing ever lasts forever. The greatest of fortresses has not fallen. The hero picks up the shield and the sword, as light pours out of his eyes, as wings of light spread from his back. He must go to face the Sun's Doom. Into The Wastes he went. Bezerker hordes opposed him, he struck them down. Finally he met his nemesis. As towering as the black sky above, as large as a continent, his wingspan as all-encompassing as the sea. His blood-red eyes more piercing than the sharpest spear. The hero lifted his sword, glowing with holy light and flew up to engage the dragon. Great blows did he strike against the beast, but the beast did strike back, and flame and holy fire pierced the sky to the ringing of blade, teeth, and claws. The hero raised his sword up and created a giant mountain to trap the dragon in. Soon after the hero died, and all that was left of the great battle was the mountain and the sword and shield.

Another time, another place.

"Wolf" woke up, trying to remember where he was, who he was, trying desperately to escape the dreams of a Grimm with a true soul, to escape the ancient history that only he truly remembered with his own eyes, trying to escape his charge. The Balance. Nothing ever lasts forever. "Wolf" shook himself free from the dreams, remembering. He had come to this cell after Ozpin had asked for some guards to "escort" him to his "new sleeping quarters", which was a reinforced metal box with a slit of one-way glass, and a bench welded into the titanium, with a mattress on it. It was a prison, captivity. He was eager for the challenge, the thrill of the hunt. The Initiation.

Abraham awoke in the ballroom. Even though he had his own room in Beacon, Ozpin wanted him to sleep in the ballroom with the other students. Ozpin had his reasons. He always did. Abraham got up from his bedroll, and immediately got to work on rolling and tying it up. Today was going to be a big day.

"Wolf" sat cross-legged on his mattress, waiting for the door to open, so he could go to the Initiation they spoke of, waiting for his chance to cull the weakest of the Grimm there. It is the way of the Grimm. The door opened to a guard, beckoning "Wolf" to come with him. "Wolf" took his time, slowly stalking towards the guard, who was feeling uncomfortable. Without looking at the guard, "Wolf" strolled past, the guard following with his weapon raised.

Abraham walked to the bathroom, only to be interrupted by a raven flying into his face. His old friend. 'Hi, Doombeak.' Abraham muttered, while they continued their conversation through their unique link.

_Where were you?_

_In jail. _

_I know that, I was there when you were captured, remember?_

_Ah, yes. Remember those other people I fought?_

_Yes?_

_Well, I was chucked into prison with them, and another person, who was a perv-_

_You have taught me much of your culture, but I do not know this term. What is a perv?_

_Well, a perv is, ermm, a person who is addicted to all kinds of sex._

_Ah. _Doombeak "said" with distaste.

_And so, while I was away, talking with Professor Ozpin, they attempted a prison break. Luckily, they were captured._

_Are you sure?_

_Well, yeah. I saw them off to Professor Ozpin myself._

_Well, because I think I saw one of them in the ballroom, black leather, armed to the teeth with knives?_

_Wow. That's him. I thought you weren't allowed into the school?_

_I'm not. _

_Oh._

Abraham finished brushing his teeth, and with Doombeak perched on his shoulder, made his way to the breakfast queue, getting a few odd looks from some of the other initiates on the way.

Finally getting his pancakes,**(A/N Yum!) **Abraham sat down at one of the tables, eating his pancakes in silence, sometimes giving crumbs to Doombeak. Someone walked over to the table.

'Hey, can I sit here?'

Abraham looked up, and before him stood the bounty hunter that had tried to escape.

_It's him. _"Said" Doombeak

_I noticed. Well, this is awkward._

'Err, yeah, I guess.'

An awkward minute passed.

'So, nice bird.'

Abraham glared at Drake.

'I thought you were going to prison.' Said Abraham icily

'Professor Ozpin gave us an opportunity. We're normal students here, except we can't leave Vale, and we're placed under surveillance.'

'We?' Abraham asked.

'Yes, we were all released. Even "Wolf".'

_Wow. _"Said" Abraham.

_Well, this is strange._

_It is indeed._

_Well, we're going to be seeing them around._

_Yeah. Might as well get to know him, at least. Never know how the Initiation's going to work out._

'So, what's your name?' Abraham asked.

'Sabre. Yours?'

'Abraham. Nice to meet you.' said Abraham, extending a hand.

Drake took it. 'Good to make your acquaintance. Have any idea what's happening at the Initiation?'

'I don't know. It seems a very well-kept secret. Don't ask the older students. They just snicker.'

'That doesn't sound reassuring.'

'It isn't.'

An awkward silence continued for the rest of breakfast.

"Wolf" walked straight through the mess hall, not even pausing for breakfast. He couldn't eat anything they served there, anyway. He walked out onto the Initiation area, and waited there, looking out upon the initiation grounds. The sun was rising, and the light reflected the evergreens in the forest. All around the forest were rocky cliffs, making it more of a canyon than anything. Running up to one of the trees on the cliff, "Wolf" grappled onto one of the limbs, and swung himself up to await the rest of the initiates.

The Judicator waited in the breakfast queue, hungry and wanting to eat some chicken. Even though he didn't look like it, he was very worried. His previous team-mate, Stockholm, was in hospital, her aura barely kept her alive after getting her throat ripped out by that _monster_, and the doctors weren't sure if she would completely heal from the wound, mentally or physically. Finally it came to his turn in the queue. 'Can I have some chicken?' He asked.

'I'm sorry, we don't serve chicken at breakfast.'

Drake and Abraham were sitting in a ripe silence, when they heard an ear-splitting scream of 'NOOOOO!'

'I wonder what happened to that poor person to make them scream like that.' They muttered simultaneously, not really hearing each other.

The Judicator sullenly walked around the mess hall, trying to look for a place to sit down and eat. He was still sad that Professor Ozpin had lied to him. They didn't serve chicken. He was half-heartedly searching for a seat until someone came up to him.

'Hi.'

'You're that girl who attacked us!' The Judicator said

'It was more like you who tried to attack us.'

'You broke the law.'

'I guess. This a good place to sit?'

'Alright.'

The two of them sat down awkwardly, with the Judicator sullenly eating his pancakes.

'So, do you know what's happening during the Initiation?' White Archer asked, wanting to start a conversation.

'I don't know.'

The Judicator finished his pancakes, and got up to walk away.

'Hey! I didn't catch your name!' Yelled White Archer

'I'm Leroy Johnson. What's yours?'

'Nicole.'

'I still don't trust you.'

'I would expect that.'

Leroy walked away to the Initiation, while Nicole finished her pancakes.

Nathan had barely gotten to the ballroom before he had already slept with a random Huntress, and had sex with two other people before he finally got to sleep. Not in the mood for any more sex, Nathan had quickly brushed his teeth, and tried to find a place to sit. He saw Nicole sitting by herself. Silently arm-pumping, he sat down next to her.

'Hi, beautiful.' Nathan purred.

'Oh god, not you again.'

'But don't you just love me?'

Nicole threw a pancake at him.

'Oww, that hurt!'

'It was supposed to.'

Nicole got up and walked away, while Nathan sullenly finished his pancakes.

Finally all the students gathered at the Initiation area. Ozpin started his speech.

'Today, you will become Hunters and Huntresses in training.'

Some of the initiates puffed their chests out in pride

'Or you will die.' Ozpin continued, putting a decided damper on the atmosphere.

'Your partner for the next four years will be determined by the first person you make eye contact with in the forest. You will be launched from these pads, and when you touch the ground, you will go to the forest temple, collect one of the idols there, and then stay for the night. To this purpose, we are dispensing provisions now.'

An assistant moved along, dispensing a bag of food to each person. Leroy looked inside the bag. There was chicken.

Soon enough, everyone was launched from their pads.


	13. Chapter 9

A Day in the Forest

**Mazon48: Hello again! Today will be another long chapter, and will be part of a (roughly) three chapter long story arc. This chapter will be a collection of (kind-of) short stories detailing each character before he finds a partner. Also, I am doing a song of the day again! These may be updated inconsistently, but hopefully you will like them.**

**Song: After The Fall**

**Artist: Two Steps From Hell**

Drake was catapulted through the air, the wind rushing over him. Protected by his mask from the air buffeting against his face, Drake fought his fear, and surveyed the area from his vantage point. He could see that the temple was facing just north-west from him, before he felt gravity pulling him towards its centre, and he looked down. He was dangerously close to hitting the ground. Using the Nightingale's semi-circular shaped blade to swing on a branch, crucially readjusting his course, and then using his semblance to create a shield, using it like a sleigh to slide across the ground, moving quickly across the ground. Noticing just in time, Drake jumped off his impromptu sleigh just as it fell into a deep hole, which Drake could not see an end to. Drake turned, mentally picturing a map of the area and he set off in the direction of the temple.

The forest was eerily oppressive for Drake, and he was being more paranoid than usual, looking behind him at almost every step. He jumped as a droplet of water splattered on him. It must have been raining a few nights ago. Drake mentally calmed himself down, forcing himself to observe his surroundings. The forest was glistening with dew, and the trees were still dripping rain water, probably from an early morning shower. There were ferns sprouting, only a few days old. It seemed like the forest could rapidly grow different plants depending on what environment suited it. Spores had probably been blown into the canyon by the wind, and now waited for the right conditions to gestate. The forest was strangely silent, with only the chirping of cicadas filling his ears. Drake momentarily wondered what happened to all the birds, before getting back to his task of familiarising himself with the forest. The forest smelt of fresh rain, and a faint musky smell that Drake couldn't place.

Drake continued walking towards the temple. His fear lessened with each step, him becoming more confident. He was still cautious, but not to the point of criminal paranoia anymore. Drake suddenly happened upon a ruin. Hoping it was the temple, he walked towards it, more quickly than before. He searched the ruins, looking behind the crumbling pillars, and in the crooks near the ruined stairs, and searched in the rubble for something of interest. Drake heard a scuttling behind him, and he quickly took out his Ursa's claws and turned around, ready for a fight. There was a lizard as big as his lower leg, with a small crest of spikes down its head and back. There was a small bump on its forehead, and it had long claws. The thing only looked at Drake. Ascertaining that this was not a creature of Grimm, Drake slowly lowered his Ursa's Claws. The creature continued looking at Drake. Drake was starting to get nervous from its continuous staring. The creature looked him in the eyes, and the bump on its head opened. It was a third eye.

Drake's mind reeled, as he was sent somewhere in the past, present, or future, to a memory that was not his. The world was blanketed in darkness, and all was dead. There were bodies scattered haphazardly across the ground. Hundreds of them. Drake immediately recognised the wounds they had. Rough slashes, missing chunks from bodies, stab wounds, raking marks across faces. The Grimm had done this. The Memory walked forward, looking around. The ground started to be less dirt and more rock, until he came to a point where there was no soil, only harsh, unforgiving rock. The ground was littered with sulphur pools, and there were treacherous ravines and pits that the unwary could fall through. The Memory looked up at the sky, and saw nothing except shadow. The sun was gone. The memory looked forwards again, and started walking. They had walked for many hours, and Drake saw what the memory saw. A dragon. A wingspan as large as the ocean, body as large as a continent, its eyes piercing The Memory. It spoke, and the vibrations were so great that The Memory was knocked over.

'The Wolf will shepherd both flocks.'

Drake snapped back to reality, and realising that it was later in the day, he shouldered his pack and set off again for the temple.

Abraham loved the feeling as the wind swept his blonde hair back, and Doombeak flew along with him. Or rather tried. Letting out an exhilarated whoop, Abraham enjoyed the feeling of the sunlight on his face, of the wind in his hair, and the scent of fresh air. Looking momentarily to find the temple, Abraham turned his attention towards the ground. Shooting his Night-Wither a few times to slow his descent, he took Arboria out, and jammed it into the ground at the last second, flipped over it, and landed. Abraham took a deep breath of the cool, clean, moist air, and sighed in contentment. He set off for the temple in a good mood, with Arboria out, and Doombeak perched on it. The forest was a good place. When he was growing up at Beacon, he would sometimes sneak out into the Emerald Forest. The forest had a calming presence, and if you stayed near the borders, there weren't many Grimm. Shaking himself out of his recollections, Abraham continued walking in the direction of the temple. Doombeak "yelled" out a warning before something crashed into Abraham, knocking him over and attempting to viciously maul him. Beating it back with Arboria, Abraham clutched his raked side, while taking the Night-Wither out with one hand. Steeling himself, Abraham shot it with one hand, killing it, but breaking his wrist in the process. He knew he was badly hurt, and the pain was debilitating. Gritting his teeth, still clutching his side, with Arboria loosely in his right hand, he limped in search of the herb he needed, aided with the knowledge of Arboria. Abraham's world was whirling in pain, as he stumbled along the way to the temple, hoping that he could eventually find the plant he was looking for, to ease his pain. Tripping over a tree root, Abraham cursed, as he landed on his mauled side. In too much pain to stand up, he pulled himself forward, the ground damp, his body losing blood, the air chilling. Abraham crawled for what seemed like hours, before Doombeak spoke up.

_Abraham-_

_What?_ It came out as little more than a groan.

_There's a Beowolf pack nearby. They can probably smell your blood._

Ignoring the rising fear in his stomach, Abraham continued on. He finally saw the plant, jammed into a small crack in the hill that ran deep. The plant had a long stalk, with two leaves forming a basket for a white globe. Abraham squeezed into the crack, biting his tongue between his teeth, drawing blood, as his mauled side scraped against the stone. Taking out a crossbow bolt, he sliced open the globe, and took out the seeds of the plant. Scrambling out of the crack, with the seeds in hand, Abraham urgently searched for a straight stick. Finding one, he set down to work. Opening his provisions pack, Abraham found a loaf of bread. Scraping out the insides, he created an impromptu bowl. Crushing the seeds between his fingernails, he put them in the bowl. Working urgently now, Abraham collected some of the dew to make a kind of soup, but there wasn't enough. Grimacing, Abraham took some of his blood, and put it in as well. Abraham mixed it with the stick, and then hollowed the stick out. Cutting a nick in his artery, Abraham put the hollowed-out stick to the opening, and poured the mixture into the stick, injecting himself with the mixture. The mixture acted as a potent painkiller, and Abraham was able to stand, feeling exquisitely numb. Taking out the Night-Wither, Abraham was ready. The first beowolf leaped out of the brush towards Abraham, before taking a shotgun round to the head. Spinning around, Abraham shot his Night-Wither into one beowolf's stomach, then turning around again, then ducked under another's blow and hewed its leg off before coming around behind him to stick his axe in the back of his head. Two then jumped out simultaneously. Shooting one, Abraham used the recoil to swing the Night-Wither in a full arc, decapitating the other beowolf just as it was about to swipe at him. Stepping around the bodies, Abraham faced the final pair. Taking out Arboria and the Night Ravens, Abraham shot the first beowolf in both eyes, blinding it. Taking out the Night-Wither as the second one leaped at him, Abraham ducked under the lunge, and shot upwards, catching the beowolf in the stomach, pushing it upwards, before it fell back down again, a dead heap on the ground. Abraham mercy-killed the incapacitated beowolf, pushing the crossbow bolts into its brain. Looking ahead, he went in the direction of the temple.

Wolf dove through the air, momentarily looking towards the temple, before turning back to the ground for a more important task. Food, and water. He had not been provided with any water, and the food that they had served was vile, bloodless, and too soft to eat. Locking his eyes on a beowolf, Wolf dropped into a dive, feeling the wind rip across his face and hood, and the crisp smell of the forest bringing him even more awake. Zooming in on the beowolf, Wolf prepared, baring his teeth and flexing his fingers, limbering up his claws for the glorious, bloody, work ahead. Smashing into the beowolf, "Wolf" mauled its face, sticking his two inch claws into its eye sockets, killing it instantly, and creating a horrid mix of blood, bone, and brains. "Wolf" began devouring the beowolf, and soon enough, all that was left was bloody, half-gnawed bones. Now full and quenched from the beowolf's flesh and blood, "Wolf" dropped his supply pack, and set off for the temple. Exhilarated from his kill, "Wolf's" step was light, blood still dripping from his cloak. Looking around at the forest, he saw the colours as bright, and "Wolf" imagined that the water dripping on him from the trees was blood, and he laughed in joy, bloodthirsty joy, but joy nonetheless. "Wolf" stopped, startled. Was that joy? "Wolf" told himself never to do such a thing again, for it would surely make him weak. Starting to walk forward again, "Wolf" shook his head to clear himself of any of the residual emotions, he began looking at the surrounding terrain more closely. To the north, south, and west of him, the forest stretched on beyond his vision. On the east side, however, there was the cliff that surrounded the Emerald forest. Walking towards it, "Wolf" smelt the distinctive scent of Murk-Spinner silk, and knew that there was a pack of Grimm nearby. Walking faster now, he found the source of the scent. There was a hole in the side of the cliff a few feet up. Flexing his claws, "Wolf" dug into the rock, creating handholds for himself. Climbing up into the tunnel, he navigated in the pitch blackness better than full daylight.

Stalking through the tunnels, "Wolf" searched for the alpha of the pack, wishing to create a bloody example of the way of the Grimm. Looking around, "Wolf" took in the tunnels. The tunnels were made of rough, grey, stone, and there were frequent puddles in the ground. There was little sound, except for the occasional snuffle echoing from somewhere, and the dripping of water from the number of stalactites in the numerous tunnels and small caverns. The smell of Murk-Spinner silk had only grown stronger, and "Wolf" knew that he was close. Soon enough, "Wolf" came upon a massive chamber. Murk-Spinner silk covered the ceiling and the walls, with strands connecting the walls and the ceiling. Murk-Spinners, as large as a foot, scuttled around, forever working for those superior to them. Growling, "Wolf" looked around for their Alpha, knowing he would have to be close. Answering his growl, a demented creature scuttled out of the shadows. With the hunched body of a spider, but with the torso of a human attached to the body where the head should have been. All of the monstrosity was played with by the shadows, as if it was shrouded in a light mist of darkness. Screaming dementedly, the creature charged at him, mouth opening to wicked fangs. "Wolf", unfazed by the scream, met the creature's charge. Shunting off the creature's swipe easily with his cloak, "Wolf" followed the motion of his block, swiping out at the creature, but there was only air where the creature seemed to be. "Wolf" only just evaded the creature's next swipe. Backing away, "Wolf" took in his opponent again. Maybe this would be a worthy battle. They charged at each other, claws flexed, fangs poised. "Wolf", however, had another plan. Jumping above his opponent, he grabbed onto one of the strands above them, using his opponent's momentary confusion to jump on him, finding that he did have a solid body. Raking his opponent down the abdomen, he jumped off just before his opponent came around, furiously swiping with his claws. "Wolf" now fully engaged his opponent. Blocking his upper-hand swipe, "Wolf" thrust with his right claw, but his thrust was easily deflected. "Wolf" desperately blocked two mad swipes aimed for his stomach, and swiped at his opponent's face. His opponent blocked the blow, but "Wolf" was already now striking in two other places, forcing his opponent into a defensive position. Striking in quick succession, "Wolf" attacked, his opponent blocking furiously. Jumping back, leaving his opponent confused, "Wolf" summoned bolts of Grimm dust, stabbing his opponent full of them, catching it off guard. It fell to the floor, twitching pathetically. "Wolf" stood there, soaking in its soul. He knew that he never wanted nor needed to kill it. But, it is the way of the Grimm.

Nathan was falling. Falling badly. Is this why so many people had landing strategies? He wondered, while thinking of a way out of this mess. Taking out the Silver Bloods, he combined them together, and shot a constant stream of Dust bullets, slowing his descent. Even so, he fell hard. Stumbling a bit, Nathan stopped to catch his breath. Looking at his weapon, he noticed that he had depleted almost half his ammunition in order to slow his descent, and cursed, irritated at this new development. Nathan looked around at the moist forest, with water dripping from the evergreens, and new ferns growing even now. He smelt the crisp, clean air, and remembered that he was completely lost. Cursing again, Nathan spun around, picking a random direction, and started walking.

Nathan looked at the forest desperately, trying to find a hint, a sign from The One Above, anything, to show him where the temple was. Looking around, he remembered something his mentor had said. "Don't always look into the distance, for what is more important can be right in front of you." Looking forward again, Nathan noticed just in time the ominous looking pit right in front of him. 'Well, that was close.' said Nathan, unknowingly jinxing himself, and, unfortunately, he didn't notice the boarbatusk behind him. Nathan heard hoof beats behind him, and turned around just in time for it to ram into him. Falling into the hole, he braced for impact, only to find that it was a few feet deep. Shrugging the anticlimax off, Nathan looked around. The pit was bland, with nothing in it except an ominous tunnel. Looking up, he saw that two more boarbatusks had joined the first, and were pacing around the pit, unwilling to take the drop. Nathan did some quick calculations in his head, and found that his only real choice was to go into the tunnel. Preparing himself, Nathan lit a flame on one of his Silver Bloods, and entered the tunnel. Looking at the eerily lit caverns, watching the dripping stalactites, and traversing the damp tunnels, Nathan had not even seen any Grimm, and he was still a bit nervous. Nathan kept on moving, completely lost, as he looked for a way out of the tunnels. He eventually happened upon some footprints in one of the muddy pools. Nathan took a coin out of his pocket and flipped it. It was a heads. Nathan started to follow the footprints, knowing it was his best chance. Nathan suddenly entered a large chamber, and looked at the creature in front of him. It was as big as an Ursa, with giant spikes on its back, and a angular head, It had large and sharp claws, about as big as Nathan's thigh, and as sharp as his tongue. It suddenly hunched over, and shot spines right at Nathan. Dodging them, Nathan shot his Silver Blood at it, setting its eye on fire. Leaving it roaring in pain, Nathan walked away.

Nathan eventually found a way to the surface. The sun was setting, the purples, oranges, and yellows reflected in the dew on the trees. The grey cliff behind him was now painted orange, and the shadows of the nearby boulders were long. Looking around, he saw a peek of grey in the middle of the forest, now dyed purplish, and set out to it. Walking in the forest, it looked as if it was aflame with yellow, orange, and purple fire, and there were a million jewels strung about on the trees. Feeling a shadow behind him, Nathan spun around to face a beowolf pack. Taking out his weapons, he fired, burning a hole in the leader's skull, and then firing more shots, taking down three more. He looked, and saw he was out of ammunition. Cursing again, he formed a hologram of himself to distract the beowolves, and ran towards the grey structure.

Nicole screamed out of pure excitement as she flew through the air, holding onto her bow, Moonlight, for dear life. Looking momentarily out to see the temple they were supposed to go to, she then turned around mid-air to see if she could see any of her friends. Seeing none, she flipped back towards the forest, turned Moonlight into its knife form, and went into a nose dive. Concentrating now, Nicole took out Moonlight, feeling if one of the blade's edges was sharp enough, before, satisfied, she turned her attention to the ground. Flinging out one of Moonlight's blades, stabbing it into a tree, she used her momentum to swing herself near another tree. Stabbing the other blade into the tree with her momentum, she came to a stop, bouncing around between the two trees. Whooping in excitement, she grabbed one of the ropes and yanked it, pulling the blade out, then did the same with the other. Falling to the ground, she caught her breath for a while, before going off in the direction of the temple.

Still getting down from her adrenaline high, Nicole skipped through the forest, whooping occasionally. It felt wonderful, as her entire body was tingling, and she felt lightheaded as the sun shone on her face, and the crisp, cold air soothed her lungs. Sitting down with her back to a tree, Nicole waited for her high to smooth over. Tuning her senses like Drake-or Sabre, she meant, had taught her to, she listened to the sounds of the forest. Hearing a rustling on the other side of the tree, she notched an arrow to Moonlight, and crept over to the other side of the tree. Showing herself as she pointed Moonlight at whatever horrific creature might be there, she quickly took one look before she shot her bow. It was a small, flightless, bird. Diverting her aim, she shot her arrow into the tree. Crouching down, letting out a soft coo, Nicole scratched the bird's head. The bird cocked it's head to the side, purring contentedly. Nicole had just made a friend. She then felt a lurking presence behind her, and, before she could react, something snatched her bow from her hand, and scampered away. Turning around, Nicole saw a humanoid-like Grimm disappear into a tree. 'Hey! Get back here right now!' Said Nicole, running after the creature, the bird following behind. Nicole jumped into the trees with practised precision, pushing through the pine needles of the trees, closely listening to the creature's rustling, desperately trying not to lose it in the dense forest. Nicole picked up her pace, smashing through the pine trees, crashing out as she fell into a clearing. Looking up, she saw that the creature was cornered, a great ravine stretching out to either side of them. Catching her breath, Nicole walked menacingly up to the creature. 'I. Will. Hurt. You.' She growled, but letting out a grunt as something knocked her over from the side. To her merit, her training kicked in instantly, using the blow's momentum to roll further away from the attacker, and so she came up facing it, ready. Standing in front of her was a Beowolf. 'I _really_ don't have time for this.' Before she could say anything else, the Beowolf came at her. Dodging its initial blow, Nicole came up to the side of it, punching it in the side of the head. The Beowolf responded, not even in pain, with a backslash that sent Nicole sprawling. Getting up again, Nicole turned as the Beowolf lunged past her, skidding into the dirt. Running at the Beowolf, Nicole thought of a plan. Sliding under its swipe, Nicole tucked into a roll, coming up behind the Beowolf, and ducking to avoid it's obvious follow-up swipe. She came up under its guard, poking at its eyes briefly, blinding it temporarily. Before it could crush her, Nicole ducked under it again, punching it before running away, leading it to the ravine.

Arriving at the edge of the cliff, Nicole looked around behind her just in time, the Beowolf leaping at her. Crouching, Nicole winced as the Beowolf, blinded, leaped at her. Going over her head by barely an inch, it flew into the ravine. Getting up again, Nicole looked around, seeing the creature still where it was before. Running closer, she saw that it was preoccupied with something. Getting even closer, she could see that it was trying to hurt the bird she had befriended just before it had taken Moonlight. Her friend. She picked up speed, her anger growing with it. Sprinting, Nicole picked up the Grimm like it was tinder and smashed it against a tree, smashing her fist against its face until blood covered her fist like a glove, and there was no longer a creature of Grimm, but rather a pile of gore. Stumbling back to the bird, she picked up her bow, and picked the bird up gently, letting it cuddle up on her head. Starting off again, she wiped the blood off her hand on some leaves before beginning to make her way to the temple.

Leroy fell towards the earth feet first, looking at where the temple was for a moment, before plummeting towards the ground. He braced himself as he started heating up from the extreme speeds, and suddenly Leroy activated his semblance. A powerful field of energy around his body that would redirect pressure. As Leroy hit the ground, the semblance kicked in, sending him flying again and leaving a crater in his wake. He continued to bounce off the ground, the height each shorter than the last, until he came to a crawl and eventually stopped. 'Well, I'm gonna feel that in the morning.' Said Leroy as he stretched, his muscles sore from the landing. Finishing, Leroy walked out of the crater like nothing had happened, and started walking in the direction of the temple, before a Beowolf pack stalked out of the forest, growling at him. Switching his weapons into tactical form**(A/N Gun + Wrist-knife)**, he charged forward. 'Fear me, Beowolves, for with the power invested into me with this shotgun of holiness, I will slay you!' Without any further words being spoken, the Beowolves charged at him. Leroy immediately shot one in the head, meeting their charge. Two Beowolves lunged at him from either side as he charged into the fray. Shooting the one on the right in the chest, he stabbed the other with his Wrist-Knife in the throat. Getting stuck into the battle now, Leroy shot his shotgun into another Beowolf's head, taking immense satisfaction from the kill. More Beowolves came out from the forest, and Leroy, knowing that it wasn't going to be a quick fight, started walking backwards in the direction of the temple, shooting the Beowolves that charged at him. 'Hahaha! Fear me!' Shouted Leroy, as he racked his 20th kill for that fight. Suddenly all the Beowolves cleared out, leaving Leroy disappointed. 'Yeah? Come back here, ya sissies!' Melting into being from the shadows, a Beowolf, larger than the rest, appeared, along with the other Beowolves following behind it. Growling, the Alpha of the pack closed its eyes, and walls of shadow appeared all around Leroy and the Beowolves. There was no way he could escape without fighting them. The Alpha charged him, his pack following behind, and Leroy counter-charged them. The Alpha lunged at Leroy, who ducked, and stabbed the Alpha in the stomach, only to be deflected by its impressive armour. He then turned around to engage the following Beowolves. Shooting the first one in the head, Leroy killed two with one swipe of his blade, then fired his shotgun again, killing another. Shooting left, then shooting right, he killed two more, and soon enough, there was only him and the Alpha. Transforming his weapons into knight format**(A/N Sword n' riot shield)**, Leroy prepared himself for the charge. Blocking its lunge with his shield, he swung at its head, the blow barely slowing him down. The Alpha leaped out of the way just in time, before leaping at him again, this time careful to avoid the shield. Leroy let out an 'Oof!' as the alpha barged into him, but luckily he still kept his footing. He backed away from the Alpha, thinking of an idea. Switching his weapons back into tactical format, Leroy charged the Alpha again. Sliding under its blow, he shot it in the pelvis, drawing blood, and sending it into a frenzy. Switching his weapons back into knight format, he blocked the alpha's attacks furiously, waiting for a moment where he could attack. Bashing back one of the Grimm's more savage attacks with his shield, Leroy ran at the alpha, pivoting a full 360 degrees before bringing his sword's gathered momentum to bear on the Alpha's leg, slicing the foot clean off. The Alpha screamed in pain and sunk to the ground, not being able to walk. Even though the Alpha was wounded, it was still a dangerous foe. It clawed its way towards him, eyes burning with rage. Leroy transformed his weapon into its tactical format, and kept on firing until his clip was empty.

Looking around, Leroy saw that the shadow walls were still up, even though the Alpha was dead. Looking around, Leroy saw a tree near one of the walls. Using his semblance, he smashed into the tree, knocking it over. Most people would have bruises from doing something like that, but thanks to the shimmering force-field around him, Leroy didn't even have a mark on him. Scaling the tree that now formed a path up from the wall, Leroy tried to remember which direction he was going, but failed. He didn't really care.

**Oh, yes, just remembered. Disclaimers. Yeah. Nothing else. Bye.**

**P.S. Favourites, Reviews, and follows are really appreciated. Plus, then you can (kind of) guide the story if you do!**


	14. Chapter 10

A Meeting of "Friends"

**Mazon: And I am back again! This is part two of my initiation trilogy, hope you enjoy. Also, *drumroll* ...disclaimers! Nothing except the OC's and my additions to the lore of RWBY belong to me, everything else belongs to Monty Oum. **

**Song: Blackheart**

**Artist: Two Steps From Hell**

Drake knelt down in the temple, waiting for a potential partner to arrive. He tuned his mind into his surroundings, listening. Hearing cicadas chirping, birds singing, and the far-distant howling of beowolves, he drifted off into a meditative state, the Nightingale held in his hands, ready to deal with anything. Hearing a branch snap beside him, he got up and turned around in one motion, swinging his weapon at the same time. Drake was looking into the eyes of the person that had followed him in the forest, after that, called in trained hunters after they were exhausted from fighting, and who had downed their airship in their attempted escape. Drake and Abraham had made eye contact. Lowering the Nightingale, Drake came to grips with the reality that this was who, of all the people in the Initiation, he was teamed with. Abraham tried to say something, but he bent over and started coughing up blood.

'Darn. This doesn't look good.' said Drake, moving to feel Abraham's mauled side. Hurriedly, he sat Abraham down against one of the pillars, and got to work. Looking around in his provisions pack, Drake tried to find a medical kit, finding out unpleasantly that Ozpin had only given them food, and containers. Drake sighed. 'There's no medical kit, Abraham was it?'

'Yeah, it was. Wait, pass me my staff.' Abraham said weakly, having lost a lot of blood. Confused, Drake passed him his staff.

Taking his staff in his hands, Abraham drew upon its knowledge, finding a plant that could be used for binding a wound. Turning his attention to his partner, Abraham asked him to find the plant, detailing its physical appearance to him.

'Okay?' Drake responded, still confused, but not wanting to question his wounded partner any more. Walking out of the temple clearing, he searched for the plant, looking in cracks and crevasses like Abraham had told him to. Walking to the foot of the cliff, he looked around. The cliff was grey, with rubble from old landslides dotting the area around it. The plant was growing in bountiful numbers in and around these piles of rubble, finding shelter from the unpredictable weather. Drake collected the leaves from the broad plants, wanting to return to the shelter of the temple as soon as possible. In the forest, water started to fall from the sky. 'Oh great. This day keeps on getting better and better. First a crazy fourth-dimensional lizard, then I've been partnered with someone who might want to slit my throat in my sleep, and now it's starting to rain. Wonderful.' Drake muttered. Finally getting back to the temple, he was drenched to the bone. He rushed over to Abraham, handing him the leaves.

'T-t-thanks.' said Abraham, shivering from the rain.

Drake quietly got up and walked over to the idols, while Abraham tended his wounds himself. _Luckily they're laminated._ Drake thought as he touched the tarot cards, feeling the distinct texture of plastic as droplets of rain occasionally splattered onto them. Thinking over each card, turning it over in his hand, and looking at the mysterious paintings, the cards always feeling to represent something more than himself. Looking at the final card, he eventually chose the knight of swords. _A warrior, like myself._ Walking back to Abraham, he sat down. 'G-got an idol?' questioned Abraham, teeth chattering from the cold.

'Yeah, they were tarot cards.' Drake said, noticing how drenched and cold Abraham was. 'You're soaked, come on, we need some shelter.' Drake said, helping Abraham up, and letting him lean on him, walking through the forest going nearer to the cliff, knowing that they would most likely find shelter there. They eventually found a small hollow in the rock, enough for a few people. Abraham sat down on the uneven stone, making himself as comfortable as he could, while Drake cut down a tree for firewood. Drake dragged bits of the tree back to the hollow, cutting them into smaller logs and creating a fire pit with some nearby stones. Drake dismantled the Nightingale, and using the energy crystal that powered it, he struck a spark, starting the fire. They both sat in front of the fire, letting their clothes dry off, while they sat in silence.

'So, can I see the tarot card?' Asked Abraham, breaking the silence that the two often had between each other.

'Sure.' Drake said, passing over the tarot card. Abraham looked at it for a while, turning it over in his hand.

'Interesting choice.' Abraham said, passing it back.

'Thanks.' Drake replied, taking it.

'I still don't trust you, you know that right?'

Drake sighed. 'I expected it.'

They sat there, staring at the fire. Drake remembered a question he had. 'So, how did you get that wound anyway?' He asked, curious as to what could hurt a soon-to-be huntsman in training.

'Balamau. Got the jump on me. Had to fire my weapon with one hand, which is why I have a broken wrist.'

'Damn. What's up with the staff, anyway?'

'It's called Arboria. It helps me navigate woods, find plants, the like. So, why the mask now? To be frank, everybody already knows your face.'

'Good point. I usually wear it because it doubles as…other things. But I guess that's not really important right now.' Drake explained, taking the mask off.

'Fine. All this talking has made me hungry. Do you think it's time to take out the provisions?'

'Yeah, I'm starving.' Drake said, taking out his pack, and organising the food, while Abraham started to hold one pot above the fire, heating up, and another collecting rainwater.

'So, a stew?' Abraham asked.

'Alright, sounds good.' Said Drake, taking out some of the ingredients in the bag.

Eventually, Abraham collected enough rainwater, pouring it into the other pot, which was now hot, while Drake put in some onion, leeks, carrots, and chicken. Finally, he took out a piece of bread and split it in half, giving each of them one piece. Content, they sat down and watched it cook as the silence reasserted itself.

"Wolf" listened to the growling of beowolves from somewhere in the trees. He had heard sounds in the caverns that only a human could make, and had pursued them, wanting to find a partner so he could finish the Initiation quickly, doing this for he had nothing else to do, except watch and wait. The sounds had led him to an exit, and there he stood.

Flexing his claws, "Wolf" stalked through the forest, towards the growling. He was invisible in the damp underbrush, blending into the shadows perfectly. His true home. "Wolf" burst out of the clearing, firing shards of Grimm Dust before charging into the battle, stabbing his stinger into the back of an unknowing beowolf's head, before pulling on his stinger, rocketing towards them. Using his momentum to full effect, "Wolf" slashed diagonally across another one of the beowolves' faces, leaving only tatters of flesh. Ducking under a lunge, he quickly disembowelled the beowolf, turning to another one, the spark of battle just barely being created and spread through his body, warming his veins, making his heart beat faster, his claws even more connected to him, cutting into beowolves as a wolf would tear into venison. But before he could lunge at another beowolf, a bullet went through its head. "Wolf" turned around, only to make eye contact with the weakling from the airship in a white tuxedo. He couldn't make out what he said, but it sounded coarse.

Getting back into the battle, "Wolf" jumped onto another beowolf, blocking a few of its swings before ripping its throat out. Turning around, he went for a killing blow against another beowolf, only to be knocked off by his partner shooting at the same target. Getting up and barely evading a swipe from a beowolf, he got back into the combat, still getting hit by his partner whenever they went after the same target. Dragging in a beowolf with his stinger, he uppercutted it, flinging it into the air. Jumping up as well, "Wolf" dragged his claw through it, splitting it from head to bottom, and watched as it fell to the bloodstained ground, once one, now two pieces. Turning around to face another enemy, he saw that the rest of the beowolves were dead, limbs and guts strewn across the forest floor. Not even speaking one word, "Wolf" made for the temple, passing Nathan without a glance.

Nathan collected some of the Dust that was left from the battlefield, and hurried after the monster who was now his partner. It was, admittedly, quite fast, and so he had time to reminisce. He had come to Vale in the hopes of joining Beacon academy, and here he was. Too bad it had to be under such strange circumstances, and with a freaking _monster_ as a companion. Sighing in resignation, Nathan followed after it, needing to complete the initiation, no matter if his partner was a six-armed snake Faunus or not.

"Wolf" strolled into the clearing, his eyes fixing upon the rubble as he quickly glanced over the ruined arches and clinging moss that defined the pathetic excuse for a temple. He stopped for the merest of instants, only to let his partner come through into the clearing, before stepping up over the small raise into the stone circle of the temple. Scanning the area, he looked almost passively for prey, before looking more closely at the artefacts. The cards were resistant to the rain, and a few inches thick. Out of some instinct, "Wolf" took the knight of swords.

_"Out of the ruins of humanity, a hero is forged," spoke_ a disembodied voice. "Wolf" stood there frozen, as he saw an image of a flaming white blade in front of his eyes while he heard the words as if they were a part of his very essence. Shrugging off the vision and its strange portents, he looked over to see Nathan writing something on a stick-it note on top of one of the tarot cards. Grabbing the back of his tuxedo, "Wolf" jerked him into the forest, intent on finding a place to stay the night, dragging a confused and angry Nathan along with him.

After a few minutes, Nathan struggled out of "Wolf's" grasp, turning around to face him, furious.

'What the hell do you think you're doing!?' Nathan yelled, before sighing, continuing after he was ready to speak. 'We're partners now, and there's nothing we can do about it. I know that you may not like it; I certainly don't, I mean, you are quite literally a lady killer, and that's not a compliment. But anyway, we need to work together, not just for now but for four years, and maybe even longer after that. Now, we still have an initiation to pass, and we can only do it together. Are you in?' Nathan raised up his hand, but before he could do anything, "Wolf" was already walking away into the forest. Nathan muttered something under his breath, before rushing up to his partner, ready to figure out what the hell it was doing anyways.

Nicole stood over the clear blue pool, watching as the water was stained with red as the blood bloomed throughout it. Taking one last look at her hands to make sure that they were no longer bloodstained, she looked around for the bird that she had befriended. Looking over the small clearing, she saw that it must have ventured into the forest. Sighing, she picked up Moonlight, and with one final look at the blood-stained pond, she set off in search of her friend. She didn't go far before her friend burst out of the bushes, giving her only a few seconds warning before she heard a war cry sound from the bushes. A Judicator, with a modified rifle raised over his head like a maniac, screaming something that sounded like 'chicken', ungracefully bashed the underbrush aside as he ran after her friend. Before he could do anything, Nicole stepped in front of him. He rammed into her with the force of a rhino, the squelch of the slimy mud alerting her to the newly-inflicted state of her clothes as they toppled into the not-so-solid ground. As they realised their awkward position, so too did brown eyes meet onyx, setting in stone their partner who they would be studying, eating, sleeping, and fighting alongside with for the next four years.

Above the Emerald Forest, Ozpin felt a twinge of sympathy for the unfortunate pair, almost regretting the sadistic method of choosing the student's partners. Not quite though, he smirked, as he secretly relished the chaos that would be wrought because of this.

'Seriously?!'

'It _looked_ like a chicken. Pretty sure it would've tasted like one.' Defended Leroy, whilst hungrily staring at the bird whose head was peeking out of Nicole's embrace.

'Uggh, just follow me.' She turned away from him, put down the bird, and walked off into the forest again. Shrugging, Leroy followed her, still looking at the chicke- bird.

Nicole facepalmed. The idiot just _had_ to make enough noise to not only wake up a pack of beowolves, but also an elder Ursa! Those things slept like rocks! 'Goddamnit Leroy, you are sure you're not descended from a bull, right?'

Her insult went to waste, as Leroy had already charged into the battle, screaming like a madman as he blew beowolves to bits with his shotgun. Sighing, Nicole continued walking, taking an arrow out of her quiver and firing it without looking. The Ursa dropped dead, a single arrow lodged in its throat. Grumbling, Leroy followed Nicole once again, shaking off disintegrating beowolf body parts as he went.

As they continued onwards, Nicole noticed the sky darkening. _Better find one of those idols, fast. And then a cave. Hopefully a warm cave. A very warm cave. And dry. _

Nicole groaned and turned over again, the bedroll offering scant protection against the driving rain. It turned out that after they had collected the Knave of Coins, it had already started to rain. Leroy had tried to find shelter, but the idiot had only found a shallow hole in the ground, only protecting them from the rain by the slightest amount. She turned over again, and then got up, only to glare daggers at Leroy. He ignored her and went back to looking at the leg of chicken in his hand.

'This is all your fault. Again.' She said. Leroy was still looking at his chicken, while trying to start a fire, albeit unsuccessfully.

'Are you even listening to me? We have _nothing. _It's raining, we're completely unprotected, it's cold, we can't start a fire, we can't even get to sleep!' She shouted.

'At least I have my chicken.' Leroy finally responded after a long silence. Defeated, Nicole shut up and tried to sleep.


	15. Chapter 11

**Dreary Nights**

Nicole was frustrated, drenched, and was stuck with someone with an attitude loud enough to break the sky behind her. In her book, that calls for being seriously pissed off. They had to leave the hole in the ground that they found because Leroy thought that he heard something in the bushes and decided to go check it out. Upon checking it out, he unloaded half his rounds into said thing. Barely fifteen seconds after that, an entire horde of Grimm attacked them, and like any good hunter-in-training, they ran for their lives.

As they walked along in the mud, at night, while it was raining, while Leroy was _whistling_. Whistling! And then Leroy spoke.

'So… where are we going?'

'How in Remnant am I supposed to know?' she yelled, her patience breaking, letting out a flood of pure, unadulterated, rage. 'We've got no maps! No shelter! No form of defence against the Grimm except for running away! We've got nothing because of you!' she said as she counted on her fingers all their problems.

Leroy just huffed. 'You could've just said "I don't know".' He said as he cocked his shotgun at a bird flying out of its tree.

Nicole let her arms slump a little as her anger receded. 'Why does it do that?'

Leroy turned to her and leaned on his shotgun. 'What?'

'Your gun. It's semi-auto isn't it? Not pump-action?' she asked, pointing to the gun for further clarification.

'Oh, that? That's just to make me feel epic.' He said, picking it up and cocking it. 'Like, it doesn't do anything, but it just feels good to pump this thing before blowing the brains out of some bastard.' He said, pumping it again.

Nicole sighed out the last of her pent-up frustration. 'I swear. None of this would've happened if I found Drake.' She murmured, causing her to think of where he was and if he was ok.

'Who's Drake?' Leroy asked, overhearing her mumbling.

She turned to him, startled he overheard her. 'Drake's my…he's no one.' She said, remembering what he told her about revealing information about him.

Leroy simply shrugged. 'Whatever butters your toast.' He said.

'That's not how the expression goes.' She mumbled as she kept walking, not bothering to see if Leroy was following.

'Y'know what you need?' he asked her, widening his pace to keep up with her.

'What?' she simply replied.

'I think you need a morale boost.' Nicole was about to make a rebuke but Leroy beat her to it. 'Pump my shotgun.'

'What?' she asked, not expecting him to say that.

'Go on. Pump my shotgun.' He said, holding the barrel of the gun as he proffered it to her.

'What are you implying-you-disgusti-.' She growled, slowly advancing .

'Come on. It always makes me feel better when I run out of noobs to shoot or sticks to smoke.'

Nicole was about to slap him, but she heard saw something in the distance between the shrubs. 'Shush.' She said.

'Look I know I can be a little forward, but you just gotta-' he was cut off as Nicole shushed him again and pointed towards the bushes. He readied his shotgun, pumping it once more, but Nicole put her hand on his chest.

'I think I should check it out.' She suggested.

'Don't worry.' Leroy said as he shook off her hand and began to walk forward. 'I'll be quick.' But he suddenly fell forward, face-first into the mud. He turned to see a white rope of energy tied around his legs. The rope led back to Nicole and ended in her hand. It disappeared as she flicked her wrist.

'I insist.' She said with a superior smirk, before taking her first few steps into the bushes.

* * *

Nathan had to trudge through sole-deep mud to keep up with Wolf as he passed through this…this bog. It was absolutely disgusting to him. He might have gotten over something like that in normal circumstances, but right now he was partnered with the very epitome of what he, as a hunter, fought against. He swiped some of the wet hair getting in his face as he tried to keep up with the monster. Something caught Nathan's sidelong glance as they were trudging through the edge of the dense patch of trees and bushes. A small hole in one of the hills with light coming from it. Steady, radiant light. Not the kind of light that comes out of the barrels of guns.

He stopped to stare at it and think about going over there for a few seconds, before he realized that Wolf was still going on without him. 'Hey, stop!' he yelled at…it.

Wolf turned around to the sound of his voice and looked at him for a while, red eyes full on menace.

'Do you understand what I say at all?' Nathan asked, never considering if it actually understood complex speech patterns. It remained motionless for a few moments, simply staring at him before Nathan asked it again, 'Do. You. Un-der-stand. Me?' he said, slower.

Wolf let out a tired growl. 'Yes.' He said in his low voice.

Nathan took that as a good enough answer. 'Great. I want to go there.' He said, pointing to the cave.

Wolf turned to where he was pointing and just stared at the cave for a few moments before turning his back to it. 'We can find vacant shelter elsewhere.'

'No! No, no, no, no! I want to go there. You've dragged me through hell already, my clothes are a mess, my hair's wet, and my feet are killing me. I just want to go rest somewhere that already has a nice fire.' He yelled at Wolf.

It was enough to make Wolf stop in his tracks. And for a moment, Nathan was worried he angered it. It turned around slowly, and made its way up to him. Faces barely inches away in the most menacing way possible, it growled at him and Nathan could smell its breath. It smelled surprisingly of ashes and blood. He gagged a little bit, fixated on the eyes of the beast that could rip him limb from limb at any moment.

Wolf eventually just huffed in his face and began a slow walk over to the cave. Leaving Nathan behind, breathless and scared stiff.

* * *

'How about this; I tell you a bit about myself, and you tell me a bit about yourself?' Abraham suggested as he threw another stick into the fire.

'No.' Drake simply replied as he cleaned the blades of his halberd with a cloth fashioned from the bag he was given.

Abraham sighed and squeezed his temple with his index finger and thumb. 'Look, we're going to have to work together for the next _four_ years.'

'Yes?'

'So you might as well tell me a little bit more about yourself.'

Drake stopped wiping his halberd to look back up at Abraham, making eye contact that could ignite paper. 'What do you exactly hope to gain from it?' he simply asked.

'A better understanding of who I'm working with.' Abraham shrugged his shoulders. Just as Drake was about to say something, Abraham cut him off. 'You don't have to tell me anything sensitive or important. Just something to give me an idea on…you.'

Drake didn't say anything for a few moments, but then broke eye contact when he next spoke. 'My name is not "Sabre".'

Abraham nodded knowingly. 'I know, Drake.'

Drake looked back up at him in shock. 'How did you…?'

Abraham wore a victorious grin for a few moments as he spoke. 'I went through your file after we put you away. So, I knew the surface of it.' Abraham rested his head on his knuckles. 'But things have changed. I want to know the rest.'

Drake's facial expressions went from shocked to angry to furious, to defeated in a matter of seconds. 'Why don't you tell me something about you first?' he asked, not giving up just yet.

Abraham was about to speak when he heard a noise like trudging just outside the cave. He picked up his Arboria and used it as a walking stick while Drake readied his gun halberd and aimed it at the entrance.

Abraham turned to look at Drake to see that he was as annoyed and surprised who of all people could be wandering outside the cave entrance. He then saw that Drake's expression quickly changed to deep irritation.

'Oh, you've got to be kidding me.' Nathan exclaimed as he wandered into the cave, only to get shoved out by Drake.

'Go away.' He said bringing his halberd up to chest height.

Nathan seem to consider the statement for a moment before saying, 'No.' and walking into the cave again.

This time, Drake put his halberd to Nathan's chest. 'This is our cave. Go find your own.' He threatened.

He raised both his arms over his head to show he just wanted to talk. 'Hey, hey. I'm soaking wet, I'm tired and I've got this monstrosity following me.' He said, jabbing his thumb in Wolf's direction. Wolf's head turned the slightest at that towards Nathan. 'I just wanna sit down for a moment.' Drake still wouldn't let up. 'Look, when it stops raining I'll take off, ok? I'll even take dark, tall and blood-thirsty with me.' He said with a smile.

Drake narrowed his eyes for a moment before lowering his halberd and, turning on one heel, made his way to the wall of the cave where his stuff was. 'I'm going to regret this.' He said, giving no hint that he was going to stop Nathan. But just as Nathan took a step further, Drake spoke up again. 'Only until it stops raining.' Nathan nodded in agreement.

As Nathan approached the fire Abraham put his hand on his chest. 'That thing can't stay.' He said, not bothering to look at Wolf.

'And you think I like having it about?' Nathan asked.

'I've seen a lot of people get killed by it. If you want to stay, then _it_ goes.' Abraham almost demanded.

'Well, it's not like can just tell it to get lost.' He turned to see that all the while, Wolf just stood at the mouth of the cave. 'I've seen what this thing can do, and I don't want it to do…it to me.'

Abraham was about to speak, but Wolf cut him off. 'If it will put your feeble insecurities to rest, I will reside at the end of the cave.'

Abraham craned to look at Wolf. 'And how exactly does that make things better?' he asked Wolf, with a hint of sarcasm.

'It ensures that I will not block your escape should I choose to dismember you.' At that, Abraham went silent for a few moments, he opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He was too stunned by the logic of what Wolf had just said, and it worried him. He turned to see that Drake was staring intently, obviously overhearing everything.

'I'm not sure if that's scary because it makes sense, or that you would think of that.' Nathan said with a twinge of fear.

Wolf simply growled, before taking a single step forward and causing Drake and Abraham to raise their weapons. Everything was still for a moment before Wolf spoke again. 'Until my captor is my captor no more.' And made his way deeper into the cave, still visible by the flicker of the fire.

Only when Wolf sat down did Drake and Abraham lower their weapons. They looked from one another to Nathan, to Wolf, then to one another again. 'So,' Nathan started, 'What's cooking?'

* * *

'It's silver.' Abraham insisted, tugging on his shirt to clarify his point.

'It's grey.' Nathan insisted.

'It is not grey. If anything, it's a silvery-white.' Abraham started shouting.

Nathan put his hand forward to stop Abraham and spoke with his eyes closed. 'Listen, I've seen the color grey. I've seen the color silver.' He said as he pulled out his pistol to pass on his point. 'And that shirt is grey.'

All the while the two bickered, Drake kept watching Wolf. He was sitting very still against the wall of the cave. Drake thought, initially, that he was sleeping, but then Wolf turned his head slightly to be able to watch Drake as well. "Some kind of meditation." Drake thought to himself, but it was getting harder to do so with the molester and Hunter starting to yell at each other.

'Screw your eyesight then! This shirt is the same color as my eyes!' Abraham was now standing as he raised his voice.

'That's because your eyes are grey in color.' Nathan said, matching Abraham's tone and standing up as well.

'Is everything grey to you or are you just stupid?'

'I'll have you know my eye sight is fine, thank you very much. And second; it's obviously much better than yours!'

'Don't be a stuck-up whore!'

'No, that would be the brunette I slept with last night.'

After than, a loud gun shot rang out through the cave. Abraham and Nathan first turned to Wolf, then remembered that Wolf didn't use guns, then turned to Drake. He pumped the handle of his halberd and the empty shell of a bullet came out. Some small rocks fell out of the small indentation in the ceiling Drake made. 'The next one's going through whoever starts arguing again.' He threatened.

Abraham looked to Nathan and decided that it wasn't worth it starting another fight. With a huff, he dismissed the matter with the wave of his hand. 'Just screw off once the rain stops.'

'Fine by me.' Nathan said with a snort, dropping back to the ground. 'I'll just go once my clothes are dry. The food and service here sucks anyway.' He mumbled the last part.

In the deeper part of the cave, Wolf felt something stir, awoken by the primordial slew of anger and fear. It hungered yet again.

**A/N: I will be on a writing spree for the next week, so stick around for more chapters in later time. Also, not to bother you readers, but the last chapter was recently updated in case you didn't know. Like I said; I'm on a roll. I saw some things that could use improvement (Drake and Abraham's conversation) and I change a few things they said. So if you're just joining this story, welcome aboard. If you've already read the previous chapter, you don't have to go back if you don't want to, nothing big has changed.**


	16. Chapter 12

The Rising Dawn

Nicole rubbed her hands together and faced her palms towards the bonfire in front of her. In her sitting position, she turned to talk to her new hosts. 'Thanks again for letting us stay.' She said with a genuine smile. Unlike the kind she had been taught to put on by Drake. Not that they didn't help.

'No need to thank us.' The boy with scraggly and tattered brown and grey hair said. He was, by all means, a mess. He had scars all over his body and he seemed to be missing the end of his left pinkie finger. He also had an eye-patch over a scar that ran across his face and down to his chin. 'You and your friend seem nice enough.' She slowly turned to see Leroy, sitting idly as he munched on a chicken leg. He seemed captivated by the mute girl with black hair and a faint trace of a scar on her neck.

'Yeah, "friend" isn't exactly the term I would use.' Nicole said with a contorted look, taking a sip of water from a canteen.

'Oh, are you two-' he was interrupted when Nicole spat out her water in shock.

'God, no! He's just an idiot I'm stuck working with.' Nicole's words flowed out faster than the water had time to sink into the dirt.

The boy was taken slightly aback by the spray of words, rubbing his burnt chin, looking back to forth from Leroy to Nicole. 'Well, he seems to have taken a liking to Kanary over there.' He pointed to the mute girl. 'Found her in the gorge to the west of here, while out looking for some wild depressants.' He paused for a moment before continuing. 'Don't ask what they were for.'

'Well, well. Look who's outa' the cage.' Leroy said with something of a smile on his face. 'I knew you looked familiar.'

Nicole saw Kanary give Leroy an over-exaggerated eye roll, rolling her head as she rolled her eyes. 'Do, you know her?' Nicole asked without sarcasm.

'I'd recognize the bird from a mile away.' Another eye-roll. 'Oh, be quiet you. Anyway, she and I have been Judicators for. Absolutely. Ever.' He turned away from addressing the others to return his gaze on Kanary. A concerned look crossed his face. 'I thought you'd still be in the infirmary. Give the damn wound time to heal.' His tone turned softer, almost caringly.

'She's fine. Though she'll never speak again.' The boy in brown and grey hair said.

'Eh, what do you know?'

'I patched her up.' Which caught everyone's attention except Kanary who continued to stare at the floor with a distant look. 'I had just come to Beacon to become a Hunter. But not to fight monsters. Not that I can't do that-I mean I can-but I came here mainly to help people-you know, a medic.' He explained. 'I heard about the prison-break and I came to see if I could help.' He shook his head solemnly. 'So many injured. I…we couldn't save them all.' He looked as if he was about to cry, but brushed it off and continued his story.

'Anyway, I saw her.' He indicated with his chin. Nicole turned to look at Kanary, who had turned to also listen to the story. 'She was going into critical condition because of how much blood she had lost, and was still losing. So, I did what I could to patch her up. But because her larynx was ripped to bits, it's unlikely she'll ever talk again.'

Nicole felt the tingle of guilt creep up her arms. Even though she did arrive after the carnage, that she caught a glimpse of as she and Drake were taken to the Ballroom, she felt quite bad for all those involved in trying to stop that…she wasn't even sure what it was that had helped Drake escape, but was quite sure it was the same person that had handed her the strange Dust Crystals in exchange for the maps Drake had stolen. But that was during the dead of night in a forest, and Nicole's eyes hadn't been wide open at the time.

He slowly reached into his field dressing kit and pulled out a bottle of medicinal pills. 'I'm not sure what could've done, that,' he pointed to Kanary, '-to that many Judicators.'

Leroy looked to Nicole, his glare stating that he blamed her for Kanary's state. 'It was mostly that one walking horror show. But there were a few… other accomplices.'

Nicole stood up in a fit. 'How dare you! I am in no way affiliated with that _monster_!'

'Wait. What?' the boy said, downing a handful of pills.

Nicole stood silently for a moment, making different faces as she thought through what to say. "Oh, boy. They're gonna kick me out of here." After a while, she took a deep breath and spoke. 'I was one of…the convicts.' The boy's eyes seemed to widen. She turned to see Kanary look at her, only mildly interested and Leroy, with a look that told her to go on. 'Newly, arrived. I wasn't the one responsible for the prison break or the massacre. Ok, maybe I cut a few people on the arms or legs, but that was it.' She said as fast as she could, there was a pause before she continued. 'I think.'

'And what were you doing at Beacon, during a prison break? And being a Mercenary?' Leroy asked, seeming to use this opportunity to get information out of her. "Maybe he's not a gigantic idiot after all."

'She's a what?' he exclaimed as he read the prescription of the painkillers.

'I was just there to pick up a friend.' She said, a smug look on her face as she turned to Leroy. She turned back to face the boy. 'I wasn't there to kill anyone, intentionally. I swear.' She said.

'And did your "friend" happen to be one of the convicts?' Leroy further inquired, reaching for his shotgun with purpose, before the brunette boy spoke up.

'Enough!' he shouted. There was a pause where he seemed to consider what she had said, he looked to Kanary and made several head gestures, to which she returned a few. Nicole barely understood what they meant, but she hoped it was good. It was a while before he spoke. 'There really is no point arguing about it now. You're here now, which says something. Not everyone goes from convict to Trainee Hunter in one night, so how about we start fresh?'

Nicole gave a sigh of relief and put on one of her charismatic smiles, with relief. 'I'd like that, yes.' She outstretched her hand. 'Hello, I'm Nicole.'

The boy took it and shook it. Only then did she realise that his palm was very rough with skin burns. 'Cody.'

* * *

'I can't get a clear shot!' yelled Drake as another shot from his rifle bounced harmlessly off the thick armour of the centipede-like Grimm called a Weri. It was at least 30 feet long, with dozens of legs as sharp and as deadly as scythes and two sets of pincers, both of them pointed, with the inner set dripping with foul slime. All the while, Abraham thought about how he ended up hanging onto the Nightwither, from the creature's back. The axe was embedded deep enough into the armour of the large creature that it wouldn't be dislodged easily. Though it wouldn't stay that way as the thick scale was beginning to peel away flake by flake from around where the axe had embedded.

'Where. Is that. Damn bird. When I. Need him.' Abraham thought out-loud as he tried to detach the end of Arboria in half to be able to use its single-shot function, with one partially broken hand and a foot. He was able to loosen the attachment, now he just needed to separate the two halves. He finally dislodged it thanks to the ground-shaking force of the creature slamming into the ground.

Quickly, he tossed the half of the staff in the air, pulled out a Dust Round and made sure the half of the staff fell into the Dust round.

His arm burned with the weight of Arboria falling down into it. Even so, he shook it off easily, but as he took aim, he started to reconsider. Judging by how long ago he had wounded himself, his arm would easily tear apart again if too much pressure was applied to it. So, while hanging on for his life by his left hand, he did the only thing he could think of.

As the Weri reared up for a ground strike, he propelled himself off the creature using his legs. While in mid-air, he quickly passed the half of his staff to his good arm, took aim, and fired.

The recoil of the shot sent Abraham into a back-flip, but he easily righted himself and landed with a bit of a skid. He looked up to see that the shot did not do much to the raging beast. He looked up in time to see the creature turn and slowly draw its head back. Abraham thought that it was preparing to strike at him, so he got ready to dodge the strike as it happened. However, the Weri did something Abraham did not expect.

Instead, a shower of red spittle cam out of the Weri's maw. Abraham barely dodged the spray of liquid, getting some on his coattails. Only then did he realise that the red liquid was acid, as holes began to form in his coattail. 'I liked this coat.' He said to the beast as he looked back up at it with a glare. Its attention was drawn away from Abraham when it was hit below the head several times by red Dust rounds. "Big mistake." Abraham thought, making sure he had a firm grip on the Nightwither.

* * *

Nathan had tried to hit the beast in its eyes, but he didn't take enough time to aim carefully at the Weri and ended up hitting the thick scales on the side of its head. The shots drew the beast's attention towards him, and he wasn't sure how to progress from there. So he decided to do the smart thing and run straight at it.

The Weri quickly reared up for a strike and struck as quickly as it could, but Nathan thought ahead and created a very handsome illusion of himself. The illusion was already moving at running speed and all he had to do was follow it while running towards a different direction and he could easily throw off his opponent. As the beast struck, he quickly sprinted in a right and avoided the strike. He tried his best to regain his composure and emptied his clips, which were already more than half empty, into the side of the Weri's thick head.

As his pistols clicked dry, he saw that the shots had taken its toll on the stone-like scales. The scales were blackened and had been cracked and chipped quite badly. He reached for the explosive rounds attached to his belt when Abraham came sailing out of the sky, axe drawn forward. Nathan had to move a few steps to the side to avoid the downward strike.

Abraham came crashing down, embedding his axe a few inches into the ground. He turned to Nathan, 'What was that?' he said, frustration and anger clear in his voice. 'I had it!'

Nathan huffed, annoyed. 'Well if you didn't tell me you were going to strike it, poorly executed by the way, how could I have known, asshole?' He said crossing his arms. 'Why should I help you?'

'Because it will likely eat you if you don't.' Abraham retorted, pulling his axe out of the ground.

'Oh, like I need help taking care of myself.' He turned back towards the large Grimm. 'Just go polish your top hat while I look good for the ladies.' He said with a smirk.

This time, Abraham grabbed Nathan by the shoulder and spun him towards him. 'Don't turn your back on me!' he demanded.

'Oh, I'm sorry.' Nathan said with mock-apology. 'I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.'

'Don't patronise me.' Abraham spat. 'You shouldn't even be here.'

'Hey, do you want some of this?' he threatened, reloading his pistols.

Abraham looked as if he were about to say something when they were both smacked hard by the scaled end of the Weri into a rock and a tree. The force of hitting the tree knocked the wind out of Nathan and his vision went black for a moment.

* * *

Wolf wasn't sure why he had no command over the Weri. He was powerful among the Grimm, and should have easily commanded it to tear the Humans apart should he please. But as he tried to command the Weri, he found that it was... Defying him. The creature needed to learn its place. He struck the legs several times, avoiding getting hit unlike the Humans who seemed to not be able to read the creature's painfully slow attacks. He was even able to rip one of the many dozen legs off it, smelling its blood in the air. It defied him, and know it would know pain, and the oblivion.

Wolf was able to get onto the Weri's back as it attempted to crush the hooded Human. He tried to form a vulnerability in its back by removing one of the scales, but was only able to make a small hole in one of them with his stinger before he was flung off. Wolf's claws ripped into the grass, before he growled, and charged into battle again.

Wolf did not care about the Humans, though he had to admit, their distractions made killing the Weri easier. It was not that he was unsure of his skills, it was that Wolf had not encountered a Weri for several moons, and was trying to remember how he had slain one, as he had done time and time before.

* * *

Drake looked around frantically for Abraham. The fight wasn't ending anytime soon and the commotion would soon attract more Grimm. Already, small Nevermore had flown overhead and Drake was only able to pick off two out of the flock. Soon, they'd be surrounded with a sheer hill to their back. He found Abraham, leaning his whole body from side to side, as if trying to get a different viewing angle on something.

He quickly sprinted to Abraham's side, firing the last two shots at the Weri before joining at Abraham's side. 'Abraham!' he called out, snapping Abraham out of his focus.

'Ah, you.' Abraham jogged to meet him as he connected the two halves of his staff. 'Good timing. I need a little help with-' he started, but was cut off by Nathan, wobbling over with his hand on his head.

'Hey, can you guys see if that'll leave a mark?' he asked, lifting his hand off his head and winching slightly at the pain.

'There's no time for this!' Drake shouted, causing the two to direct all their focus on Drake. 'Listen, we're getting nowhere fighting this thing-' he gestured to the Weri, which was still occupied by Wolf's constant flurry of attacks. '-individually. We need to work together, or we'll all end up Grimm chow.' He turned his head to the forest beyond then back to the duo. 'The fight's attracting more Grimm to our location. Soon, we'll have a whole horde on our hands.'

'I know. That's why I've got a plan if you'd just let me finish.' Abraham said while side-stepping out of the way of another spray of acid. He pointed towards the scales on the back of the Weri. 'You see that large scale just below the neck? That's where my axe is. Right now, it's slowly causing the scale to rot and peel away.' He turned back to address the two. 'If I can get my axe and break the weakened part of the scale, I can create a weak spot which we can all target to bring this bastard down. What do you say?'

'I say, Beowulves!' Nathan shouted while pointing to a few pairs of red, menacing eyes in the bushes.

"One problem after another." Drake pulled the bolt on the Nightingale back and swapped out the magazine for a new one. 'Alright, Nathan. Take care of the Beowulves. Abraham, tell me when.'

'What?' Nathan began to protest, but Abraham and Drake ran off to flank the Weri. After running in a wide anti-clockwise arc around the Grimm and dodging its constant strikes, Drake took a dive behind a low bush in between two trees and put his eye to the iron-sight.

The Weri turned on all its legs towards the duo. 'Great. Just great.' Abraham murmured. He turned to Drake. 'I'm gonna need you to distract it so I can get on its back and-' His voice was drowned out by the furious screech of the creature. Drake wondered for a while what it meant, when it slowly turned its head to reveal Wolf, hanging and clawing on one of its legs. 'Well. That works.'

'Move! I'll draw its attention.' Drake commanded and, after receiving a nod from Abraham, began firing round after round at the creature's eyes, trying to blind it. He was almost halfway through the clip when he heard a low, guttural growling from behind him. Drake already knew what it was before he turned around, and drew one of his throwing knives. Just as he caught sight of the Beowulf, he flicked his wrist as hard as he could, sending the small dagger straight into its chest with a whistle.

He turned back as he could feel the wave of air created by the exploding dagger, and found that Abraham was already on the creature's back, and beginning his climb to his axe.

Abraham could just barely reach the Nightwither as it continuously thrashed about, thanks to a shot Drake was able to get off in its eye. 'Just a little more.' Abraham grumbled through clenched teeth. He was starting to lose his grip on the stone-like scales of the creature as he tried again and again to dislodge the axe with his bad hand, as there were no other visible places to climb further up the creature and his right hand would probably come right off with all this thrashing.

He was about to give up and try a different approach when the Weri's upper body suddenly fell forward. It wasn't perfectly flat, but it could be walked on without much difficulty. He looked around to see what had caused it, only to turn his head to the right to see that the Wolf creature had grabbed one of its legs and was pulling it down.

He didn't give time to acknowledge it as he got upright, pulled the axe out with his left hand and brought it back down to almost completely shatter the scale. The creature gave a high pitch cry of fury as Abraham brought the axe down two more times before jumping off it. 'Aim for the hole in its back!' he shouted as he sheathed the axe on his back and pulled out Arboria and slipped a cartridge of three shots into the side.

Eventually, Wolf lost his grip on the creature and it rose back up to shower him with acid if it weren't for the combined firepower of Drake, Nathan and Abraham. After they had used up all their ammunition, there was a second where nothing happened, and the creature slowly turned as if to face them, only to collapse in the dirt.

Abraham's breath was hard as he experienced the recoil of defeating such a large creature. He turned to the two others as he saw they were just as tired. 'For the record.' He began. 'I could have taken him by myself, if I had both my arms.'

All Drake had to say to that was, 'Shut up.' as he slumped to the dirt in a sitting position.

Nathan approached the large beast's maw and kicked it in the fangs after a moment's hesitation. 'Not so tough are you?' he asked rhetorically, only for the creature to let out an ear-splitting screech. His scream of terror seemed to match the creature's almost perfectly as he ran back to Abraham and cowered behind him.

Abraham reached for his axe as the creature slowly rose, but he didn't need to use it. Before it could even rise a metre off the ground, Wolf jumped over it, ripped out both of its fangs with his bare hands, and stabbed them into the Weri's gleaming eyeballs. The creature slumped to the ground again and with a last hiss, died.

Abraham gave a raised eyebrow look in awe. He looked to Drake who was similarly in a frozen position whereby he looked ready to draw his weapon. When Wolf turned to face them, Abraham lowered his hand and turned to address the hyperventilating Nathan. 'You ok.' He said with a chuckle. 'You got quite a scare there, chap.'

'His…the…what…it…' was all Nathan got out between breaths before Abraham lost interest and turned towards the growl of Beowulves.

**A/N: Just like to point out, I might use everyone else's POV instead of Leroy's more later on into the story, but that's because he's not right up there and I like to get my story across. If you think I don't need to always explain every little bit of complex lore and you'd like to know how Leroy thinks, tell me and I'll see what I can do.**


	17. Chapter 13

**A/N: Reminder that OC submissions are still open. They do not necessarily have to have names that start with C and K anymore. (Guess why?) But it's no fun coming up with all the redshirt teams. OC's can be submitted individually or as a team.**

The Rising Dawn part 2

The trek was agonizing, especially due to the fact that Nathan had been fighting for his life nearly the whole night. The party of lunatics he was travelling with had insisted that they move to better ground in case the Grimm came back in force, through the dead of night, in the cold.

After the Weri's defeat, Nathan was forced to fight of only the Lord knows how many waves of Grimm, and not only did that make a mess of his clothing, but of his face and hair as well, since a Creep was able to headbutt him.

They barely spoke as they travelled through the thicket of the forest. He wasn't even sure if any of them knew where they were going, and he really didn't have the ammunition or the attention to fight of another wave of Grimm. Which was why he was stuck following them. "At least it stopped raining."

Eventually, the left the thick forest behind them and came out into a clearing; the same clearing where that Wolf thing got the Tarot Card they were supposed to get. 'Is this really any better than the cave? I mean, at least the cave had good cover.' He whined.

To which Abraham turned around and gave a quick, 'Shut up.' Before continuing onwards. Nathan just huffed a cloud of the chilly air before following the two, plus Wolf, to the ruined temple. As Nathan, Drake and Abraham stood in the center of the temple, peering into the gloom, Wolf walked over to examine the ruins, touching the old, worn stone pillars now and then, his claws scraping against the moss-ridden rock.

'We'll have to make do with here.' He heard Abraham say as he sat on a crumbled stone pillar. Nathan took this moment to rest as he slid to his knees on the ground and looked up at the stars, wondering how the hell he was going to get out of this, or that the Gods had mercy for him when his time came. "Please. Just let me sleep with supermodel Hailey York once before I die."

* * *

Abraham heard distant explosions and screams, but it only caused a moments worry, and a turn of the head. Abraham was too busy once again tying up his wounded right arm, which had been cut while fighting a Beowulf. He pulled out his standard bronze pocket watch to check the time. It read, '5:55'. "Just a few more minutes till sunrise." He thought to himself. "Then I can sort this whole ordeal out with Ozpin. I cannot be on a team with these psychopaths."

'I think I hear something coming.' Drake said, raising his halberd. Abraham groaned and got back up, his arm only partially wrapped up.

Abraham got back up and made to speak but Drake put his hand up for silence. He pointed in the direction of a few bushes, where Abraham could now detect the rustling. He put a hand to the handle of his Nigthwither in anticipation. All that came out of the bushes however, was a small Ursa cub. He groaned and turned to face Drake, getting ready to tell him to alert him when a _real _threat came by, before he realized that the cubs don't travel far from the adults.

Moments later, two Ursi burst out of the forest, knocking down a few trees with them. They eyed the four as Abraham drew forth the Nightwither. He slipped a small, thin latch in its side to check the ammunition. He saw only two gauges left, but in his right arm's current state, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to use them.

He knew it would only be a matter of time until sunrise, but he wasn't so sure how long it would take for the airship that would airlift them would take to arrive. Just as he got into a fighting stance, he saw Wolf perk up from the corner of his eye and take off against the Ursi in a shimmer of black. He relaxed at seeing how easy it was for Wolf to tear the Ursi into bits. 'Well, I think its got us covered.' He said before looking around and stopping on the top of the pillars where a stone slab curved onto several pillars. "The sun'll be up any minute, so…" he began by putting one hand into a crevice in the pillar, then a foot into another.

'Where are you going?' Drake asked him, annoyed more than anything.

Without turning around, Abraham replied, 'What's it to you?' with the frustration of being stuck with the Mercenary until further notice clear in his voice.

There was a pause before Drake replied with, 'Good point.'

* * *

It was what the Weri had said to Wolf that caused him this…frustration. Or was it distress? Either way, the next Grimm Wolf encountered, he swore to confront. One word, one single word that the Weri uttered in its dying breath had truly angered him: 'Heretic.'

As Wolf asked it for its treacherous reasoning behind its disobedience, that was his only answer. How dare that insignificant worm address him as such. He was the rightful heir to the realm of Dark. The Bringer of Dusk, and it dare call him a _heretic_?

He had to make sure, so he confronted the Ursi. He tried to open mental communication through to them, no luck. So he began using signs, body and script, ones that still meant something to all Grimm. They replied with aggression. This continued to become increasingly frustrating and somewhat drastic for Wolf. "How dare they brand me heretic, the infidels!"

There was only one true way to be sure that the Grimm called him traitor, but it would not be here. He would need to get away from the Humans, reconnect with the Pack. If they bowed before him, he would have his answer. If not, then they will bow anyway-along with the rest of their brethren-on the mangled and savaged stumps that used to be their legs.

* * *

Drake had watched as Abraham scaled the side of the old, weathered pillar, and had expected it to fall, but it didn't. Abraham just stood up there, motionlessly watching something in the distance. Drake tried to see what Abraham was looking at, but could not see anything but the faint outlining of the forest in the low light. He decided to climb up there himself and ask the Hunter.

He put his foot into one of the grooves in the stonework, but he couldn't find a deep enough groove to use as a handhold, so he pulled out one of his daggers and used it as leverage to scale the wall. Eventually, after almost falling once, Drake made it to the top and brush off himself next to Abraham.

'What are you-' Drake was cut off by Abraham putting a hand to his mouth and taking a deep breath.

'Just…let me have this moment.' He said through gritted teeth.

'I was just asking what-' Drake was cut off again when Abraham finally snapped.

'You know what?' Abraham started, not holding back. 'Lately, you…and your entourage of weirdos have put me through a lot of crap! It's bad enough that I'm stuck with you on my team. I was going to be able to hand-pick my own team of Hunters, did you know that?' Drake knew from the moment that he got up here that Abraham was trying to hold back a lot of anger, and he honestly didn't want to be on the receiving end. 'Now I'm stuck with you and who knows else! I just, want a moment, to myself.'

'Pheww. It's not easy getting up here, I tell you.' Nathan said as he pulled himself onto the arched surface of the overhang.

'Oh, great. Now you're here! Great! Why don't we just invite Wolf, and we can all have a nice, jolly tea party!' Drake wanted to try to calm Abraham down, but Wolf cut him off as he landed onto the overhang with a gentle thump.

Just then, a raven flew in and landed on Abraham's shoulder with a squawk. 'Oh, now you show up! Where the bloody hell were you when there were like, twenty Beowulves surrounding me!' he started yelling at the raven. The raven squawked once more at Abraham, and he seemed to calm down. 'Sorry.' He said in a softer voice. 'Didn't mean to yell old chap.'

That was when Drake's recall started to kick in. Reality started to shatter before he was in a memory ten years ago.

* * *

_Stressful night?_

'Oh, you have no idea.' Abraham replied out loud.

_I'll say. You're not even communicating on the sub-mental level._

'Yeah,' Abraham thought about trying the mental link, but was too tired to put in the effort to make it. 'I'm too tired for that.'

_Ok… _Doombeak looked off into the distance. _We're waiting for the sunrise again aren't we?_

'Yeah.' Abraham replied, squinting to see the low light that was slowly getting brighter the longer he looked.

'Uh, who are you talking too?' the pervert asked.

'I thought it would be obvious.' Abraham said, shrugging the shoulder with Doombeak on it. He turned to look back at Doombeak. 'By the by, where did you go?'

_You were injured. I thought that I would help by clearing the skies of Nevermores in case they tried to pluck out your eyes. Perverts._

'What?' Abraham asked.

_Two of them had attempted to win me over with some kind of mating ritual. I think. They had attempted to eat my feathers, so I assumed as much._

'No, seriously. Are you really talking to a bird?' Nathan interrupted.

'He has a name, you know.' Abraham shot back, turning his head to direct his voice, but not making eye-contact with Nathan.

_Abraham, how will you leave the forest?_

'I think a ship will come and pick us up.' Abraham said, taking a seat on the smooth stone, worn by weather and time.

'Hey, dude? I think your creepy assassin friend's brains are fried.' Nathan said, who Abraham was increasingly finding annoying.

'Don't you ever know when to…' Abraham stopped when he saw what Nathan meant. Drake was standing perfectly still. His eyes were cloudy and his breathing was so slow, Abraham thought for a moment that he was dead. 'What the hell?' he murmured.

He got up and waved a hand in front of his face to see if his eyes would follow, or if there would be any reaction at all. After that did nothing, he snapped his fingers in front of Drake's face a few times before calling, 'Hello! Where's your head, chap?'

That caused Drake to flinch and stagger backwards, shaking his head. He looked up, then around, his hand going for his halberd. 'What? What's going on?'

Abraham was worried for a second. It seemed that Drake had lost his memory, and if he didn't remember how to fight... Then, a stroke of genius struck him. 'You're lost in the forest, but I'm here to rescue you.' He lied 'You hit your head pretty badly, but we'll get you to safety.'

Drake refocused on Abraham, then, after a second, he huffed a cold breath. 'Didn't your parents teach you not to lie?' he asked. Abraham was disappointed that Drake wasn't in a state of amnesia.

'Eh. It was worth a shot.' He said while shrugging his shoulders, before getting serious again. 'What happened back there? You kind of…'

'Spaced out?' Drake finished, turning his head to watch the rising sun.

'Yeah.'

'It's nothing.' He simply said, and offered no further explanation, which made Abraham irritated.

'I just need to know if you'll space out on me in a combat situation. If I can't trust you to do your job-'

'Its. Fine.' Drake growled behind clenched teeth, glaring daggers at Abraham, the unspoken threat not lost on him as they both turned to the rising sun. At that moment, Drake's facial expressions visibly loosened. He seemed to stare at it for a few moments before pulling off his hood for the first time since he was captured.

This was the first time that Abraham got a good look at Drake's face since he was initially captured. He noticed that there was a small metal device that ran up his neck that resembled a spine. He was wondering what it was before looking to his right to see Nathan aiming one of his guns at Wolf, ever so slightly from below the hip. The Wolf creature itself was looking agitated, like one wrong move and he would pounce on one of them.

It made Abraham uncomfortable, to say the least, but it also reminded him, 'Hey, why are you two still following us? Didn't we tell you to bug off like three minutes ago?'

'Oh come on.' Nathan whined. 'The least you could do is let me hang around, in case the weirdo decides to try something.' Nathan said, gritting his teeth and leaning in closer for the last part of that sentence.

Abraham shrugged, 'Not really my pro-' Abraham stopped himself to consider the fact that the Wolf creature was a deadly force, and that losing sight of it may cause more harm. He sighed. 'Ok, I see the problem.' He put his hand to his chin to think of a solution, before Nathan spoke out again, pointing to the distance as he did.

'Hey, isn't an airship supposed to pick us up at sunrise?'

Abraham turned to where Nathan was pointing. 'Why do you…' he could just barely make out the form of an airship against the rays of the sun. '-ask?'

'Did your bag happen to have flares?' Nathan asked, emptying out the contents of his bag.

'Pretty sure it doesn't.' Abraham said, reaching through his pouch for a Dust Crystal.

'Then how are we supposed to get its attention?' Nathan asked as a bright red streak of Burn Dust went up into the sky, Abraham turned to see Drake pulling the bolt-action on his halberd and loading in another shard.

'Wait.' Abraham said, putting a hand in front of Drake as he watched the airship, after two seconds, it began flying in their direction. Even though Abraham wasn't sure whether the pilot could see him or not, he waved towards the ship.

Just as the ship was half a kilometre away from them, it changed its course and headed off towards one of the hills. Abraham's jaw fell slack. 'What the hell?'

'Hmm, maybe they didn't see us?' Nathan suggested, which Abraham found ridiculous as the shot that Drake had fired had obviously drawn their attention. Abraham loaded and fired another Burn Crystal out of Arboria, hoping to get the attention of another airship. He watched as the bright light slowly fell to the ground before flickering and dying out just before it reached the ground.

He scanned the sky back and forth, looking for a ship, when he heard the buzzing of engines coming from behind him.

He turned around to see an airship landing roughly two-hundred metres from the ruins in a clearing. Without a word, Drake jumped down off the structure and headed for the airship at a brisk pace. Abraham, not wanting to appear to fall behind, followed suit. He heard Nathan and the Wolf creature land just a second after he did.

* * *

Drake wasn't surprised when the Judicators that were guarding the airship began demanding that he hand over his weapon. Not wanting to die out in the forest, Drake complied, handing over the Nightingale, the Ursa Claws and his throwing knives, keeping one hidden inside his boot. The Judicators also took the liberty of taking his Sabre mask out of a pouch on his back.

When the others approached, the Judicators approached cautiously with their weapons raised and shouting commands. Abraham didn't seem to take too kindly to the tone they used, but when Wolf came close enough, two Judicators pushed past Drake with large rocket launchers. They immediately fired upon the creature, and Drake braced for the impact, but instead of firing missiles, two arm shackles were fired.

Wolf roared at the Judicators as one pulled out a handheld trigger and activated it, causing the two shackles to magnetize towards each other and lock in place. After that one Judicator approached with a large catch pole and swung it at Wolf, knocking him over and locking the collar in place.

'Target is secured, sir.' Said one of the Judicators to someone on the other end of a communications line.

Drake had no objections to how they treated the creature, as it had done nothing to earn his respect, and it seemed that the others felt the same, judging by their emotionless reaction to the binding.

'Move, freak.' The Judicator with the catch pole ordered as he began to drag Wolf just as he was getting up on his feet.

'That goes for you too.' Another Judicator said, putting a gun to Drake's back. 'Move. Into the airship.' Drake complied and began walking into the airship as he heard explosions in the distance. Once in the airship, the Judicator forced him down into a chair and pulled down the Secures, so that he couldn't get out without taking off the metal harness, which would give the Judicators enough time to react. "Or so they thought."

The Judicator did so for Nathan as well, knowingly just strapping an illusion of him down while the other sat on another chair, the Judicator noticing, electrocuting Nathan with his shock baton and strapping his unconscious body down.

While that went down, two other Judicators began tying Wolf against a wall with more arm bracers attached to it. Out of the corner of his eye, Drake saw Abraham taking the seat opposite him, and then he saw his father, sitting down opposite him from the table, 8 years ago.

Shaking his head, he caught the end of a sentence coming from Abraham. 'What?' he asked.

Abraham opened his mouth to repeat himself, but closed it and instead said, 'Never mind.' As the doors to the airship closed.

The rest of the flight went by in relative silence aside from the low hum of the ship's engines, getting a few sidelong glances from the Judicators now and then, but it was only a few minutes before they arrived at a landing pad back at Beacon. The landing pad was already filled with Judicators that were already in formation, surrounding the ramp into the airship. Once again, Drake was forced out along with the Nathan, who was still slightly numb from the electric shock.

While he was being shoved along, he could hear the growls of the Wolf monster, and spared a glance back, to see the more Judicators that were already on site attaching more Catch Poles to his arms. Drake caught some of the things the Judicators were saying as they he was ushered through a set of large, green doors. 'Yes, sir. We're bringing them up now.' 'We've got all of them.' 'The creature is secured. Yes, level 4 security.'

Drake suspected something, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet. The Judicators were leading them towards a large elevator, which was being guarded by two Hunters. The Hunters parted ways as they approached and opened the elevator for them. They entered, and the Hunters followed, as well as the Judicators who secured Wolf.

Wolf growled and struggled as they held him against the wall of the elevator, as they slowly made their way up. After about ten seconds, the elevator stopped and opened with a chime. 'Go on.' One of the Hunter told Drake as he brushed back his coat, revealing a large revolver-type pistol. Drake had no plans of resisting just yet anyway, as the Judicators still had his weapon. _Unless Wolf would like to try to shred his way through the guards again._

Drake walked out of the elevator, to find himself in a large, circular room. At a desk opposite the elevator sat Professor Ozpin, looking into a Handheld Scroll. To his left, the woman he had seen earlier, likely the Miss Goodwitch he had heard about through the snippets of conversations he had caught, was standing and looking rather irritated as she tapped her foot. He looked up at the party of people that had just entered and put the device face down. 'Come in. There's no reason to be afraid.'

* * *

Abraham began striding forward, not missing a beat as he walked right up to Ozpin. 'Ozpin, I'd like to talk to you about something.'

With a smile, Ozpin slowly rose out of his chair and stood straight. 'I think it can wait until I introduce to you some very interesting people you're going to be working with.'

Drake walked along in an arc as he tried to get a sidelong view of the conversation. He barely caught Abraham's wide grin as he sprung up from his bent position to extend his hand towards Ozpin. 'Oh, thank you, Ozpin. I knew you'd come through eventually.'

Ozpin took the hand with a smile. 'The pleasure is all mine. I hope you will cooperate with them, however.'

Abraham chuckled. 'Don't worry. I'll make sure they're in great shape.' He paused. 'You are appointing me leader aren't you?'

He could see Ozpin hesitating as he pulled the grey Scroll closer to him. 'No. Not really, that would be him.' He said, turning to look right at Drake. Abraham turned to look at Drake with a confused look. Drake, admittedly, didn't understand what Ozpin was saying either.

'I-I don't understand, Ozpin.' Abraham said, looking to Miss Goodwitch for some sort of answer, but all he got from her was the shake of her head.

'Drake Venari.' Ozpin announced loud enough so that it echoed through the whole room. 'Nathan Grey.' That caused Nathan to snap at attention. 'Abraham Linkin' Abraham looked at Ozpin pleadingly. 'Subject 226 Codename: Wolf.' Two of you have in your possession, two different cards. Will you please present them forward?'

Drake stepped forward, albeit Abraham's wary expression, and handed the tarot card he had with him over to Ozpin. Wolf also struggled forward, with a gun to his forehead, before Ozpin got up and walked over to Wolf. He gave Wolf a hard glare before pulling the tarot card almost miraculously out of his dark cloak.

He walked back to his table and placed the cards on the top of it. He smirked as he pressed a button on the table and a blank, white screen was projected behind him. 'You see, two of each cards were left in those ruins, and the two pairs that collected the same card would be put into one team.' He said as the two cards they had, The Knight of Swords, appeared on the screen.

Drake's eyes widened slightly, realising what was going to happen. "Oh, damn." He thought, knowing exactly where this was going.

'The four of you collected The Knight of Swords. Therefore, you shall be henceforth code-named, DAWN.' "Sounds catchy." Thought Drake to himself. 'And you will be led by a strong leader, isn't that right Mr. Venari.' At that, Drake snapped and his senses were all on high alert.

'What?' he asked, to no one in particular. He looked about at more startled faces, then back to Ozpin's calm and composed figure.

'What!' Abraham shouted. 'Him? Ozpin, he can't be trusted!' Abraham said with a disgusted look on his face.

'I'm sure in time, he can earn our trust.' Ozpin said, calmly. 'Do you not think so, Glynda?'

Glynda scoffed, but said. 'I suppose everyone deserves a chance.' She said, glaring at Abraham for some reason.

'Hang on. You mean I'm stuck working with, _it_?' Nathan asked, gesturing towards the still struggling Wolf.

'Hang on, you mean I'm stuck with them too?' Abraham shouted, getting confrontational with Ozpin.

'I'm sure it will be fine.' Ozpin said, putting a hand on Abraham's shoulder. 'After all, I've always believed and had faith in your ability.'

Abraham faltered slightly. 'Well, if you think so, then-'

'Good! Horizon, have them taken to Detention Block 5.' Ozpin said to one of the Hunters. He nodded and opened the elevator.

'Wait. Them? Why do I have to go as well?' Abraham asked, while being pushed along by one of the Hunters.

'Because I need someone on duty at all times to make sure that the two convicts as well as the creature do not get up into any mischief.' He rested his cane against the table as he began typing something into a keyboard Drake could not see. 'And I trust none to do the job better than you.'

They were shuffled into the elevator-Wolf first as he was pushed up against the wall-as Abraham looked back and replied, 'Yes, sir.' But as the doors closed, his face grimaced.

* * *

Ozpin was busy typing away procedures to the Warden in charge of the Detention Level to prepare Block 5 for Wolf's arrival, though he could still feel Glynda looking at him with an uncertainty. He sighed as he said, 'I know you must be worried.'

'Far beyond worried.' She said, pacing in front of the desk to get in his field of vision.

'In a good way?' Ozpin asked jokingly, to which Glynda scoffed.

'Ozpin, if they really are who you think they are-'

'Do you think we'll need Hexes to contain Wolf?' Ozpin tried to change the question, though it was completely relevant as Ozpin listed the preparations the Warden would have to undertake for Wolf's cage.

'I…I think we shouldn't leave any doubt but…Don't try to change the subject.'

'Hexes it is then. I need your opinion: snare or paralysis?'

This time, Glynda put her hands on Ozpin's as she craned her neck into his line of vision to show her worry. Ozpin sighed again, longer this time. 'If they are not who I think they are, then they will amount to little, or kill each other.'

'But?' Glynda inquired, gently.

'But, if they really are The Dawn, then we must prepare them and the world for the trials ahead, if we are to survive.' Ozpin stood and put his hands on Glynda's shoulders. 'But I am more than certain that those four will be the vanguards of Humanity, and do things we could never hope to do.'

Glynda gave a few small nods. 'Alright.' She said, not much above a whisper. 'It just worries me that they don't seem like anything I pictured.'

Ozpin smiled and let his arms drop. 'Life rarely plays out exactly like we hope.'

Glynda suddenly turned and began walking to the elevator. 'I'll go see to that the prisoners are informed of the schedule.'

Just as Ozpin sat back down, Glynda called out again. 'Just one more question.' Ozpin looked at her and indicated that she continue with a smile. 'Did you always know that Abraham was going to save the world?'

The question brought a smile to Glynda's face as well, as he knew that she had also watched him grow from a small boy into a fantastic warrior. Ozpin turned to look out of the window to his back as he said. 'I always thought that they'd all save the world.'

**A/N: The reasoning behind the relatively low technology just one generation before the events of RWBY will appear later in the story, but for now, just know that the technology is on par with Robocop (2014), the Scrolls are like the IPad Air and that the Editorial and I disapprove of Holographic highway dividers.**


	18. Chapter 14

**A/N: Just want to give a shout-out to Lucenthia for his detailed review. Forgive me if I did not PM you, its not something I do. But I just want to make 2 things clear. 1: The story is going to revolve a lot around Drake/Sabre and Abraham because they are two of the most influential characters. 2: Your criticism is most welcome and thanked.**

The Simplest of Tasks

_After the Age of Ancients, only Dust and death remained. But out of the ruins-as it always has-mankind rose. An age of heroes and discoveries for the Humans had begun, and an age of death continued. Immanent struggle and war. Life and death, it was always in equilibrium that even the slightest…what is that?_

Wolf awoke once more, but this time in a cage; the cage he had been trapped in the last day. It hummed with energy and Wolf was tempted to reach out and touch one of the bars. He was startled slightly when he felt a powerful shock race up his arm. Something glowing on the floor caught his eye, and he looked down to see that a symbol made of light had appeared, only to slowly fade away.

This prison would not hold him, he knew he could escape at any time and rip all those responsible to bloodied shreds, but not at the same time and not without great cost. The turrets the Humans had installed into the ceiling were also constantly aimed at him, though he had tested their movement speed by wavering back and forth. He knew if he tried, he could outrun the guns, but what would lie after was the problem. He was not powerful enough to defeat these so called 'Hunters' in their lair. Not yet.

He reached out to the bars once more, touching them and eliciting another shock. It would take some time to get used to the pain, but soon enough. Soon enough he would have his answers.

* * *

The night went by in total silence for Abraham, though it went by in total silence for everyone. No one spoke, for no one had anything to say.

As per Ozpin's teachings, Abraham tried to see the positive side in this mess. After two hours of thinking, he could think of none.

_This is a load of crap. _He thought to himself. _He'll see. Once I show him, he'll lock them all up and I'll be able to pick my own team._

The rest of the night was filled with the hum of the complex structure that held the abomination. Its' arms and legs were bound by heavy chains to the ground, and he was surrounded by a thick cage with trip-mines at the edges. Generally, that would blow the cage to bits, but the bars were so thick, it would do little to the cage's integrity. He would be sure to put in the order to terminate the creature once he got promoted to War Master in a few years. That is, if Ozpin insisted on keeping it here.

Abraham respected and heeded everything Ozpin said and did. It was his actions that had readied him for battle, and his words that inspired him to action. His words on equality between the Faunus and Humans are what drove him to do his best to break the slave trade whenever tasked.

When he first met Ozpin in that forest, he was a broken boy. Now, he was more powerful than he could've ever imagined.

In a light state of sleep, he could hear the on-off rhythm of pacing. Out of curiosity, he slowly opened his eyes to meet the ceiling of the small crevice in the wall he slept in. He turned in his place on the hard stone, to see the hooded mercenary, pacing back and forth across the room. He watched as the mercenary stopped at the wall and crouched down. He tapped the panel against the wall once before prying his fingers into edge in an attempt to pull the panel off.

After a few seconds, he gave up and walked parallel to the wall, his hand against it the whole time. Abraham smirked, 'Keep at it and I'm sure you'll find a loose one.' Abraham said, rolling and dropping to his feet.

Drake turned and after a momentary pause, leaned against the wall. 'Well, Mr. Linkin, if you have anything better to pass the time with, or if you could tell me when we are expected to be contacted again…' he let the question hang.

'Well maybe if you just asked.' Abraham said, walking up to the steel slab that acted as the door and knocking three times. 'Hey! Anybody out there?'

'Shut up! I'm trying to get some sleep here.' Nathan yelled from his crevice.

'Well nobody asked you.' Abraham retorted. He knocked on the door twice once more. 'If you can hear me out there; get Ozpin!' This time, the door opened to reveal a guard in Council Red robes wielding a pike one and a half times his height.

'Ozpin has ordered that no one is to leave the prison until he arrives.' Was all she said before the door slid back into place.

'What? Hold on, when is he coming?' Abraham asked, pounding his fist to the door as he did. _This is not how it's supposed to go down. _Abraham thought. _Why is he doing this?_

'Why the rush?' Drake asked, his arms folded. 'Something I would like to know?'

This time, it pulled an agitated nerve in Abraham's mind. He turned around and marched up to the mercenary. 'Listen closely, Ozpin may have put you in charge, but you're under my regime. One good word with Ozpin, and I can have you locked up until your skin turns black.' He did not wait for a reply as he turned around and walked back up to the door. _The nerve of that scum._

* * *

The yelling and knocking only went on for another three minutes before the Hunter-Trainee gave up, but in the time, Drake drew some conclusions of Abraham. He seemed to think that he was above them, which was understandable. However, the Hunter-Trainee did not seem to try to pretend that it did not bother him. Instead, he openly displayed his displeasure.

After that, he slumped against the wall and just started wiping his top hat with his gloved hand. He gave Drake a glaring glance before returning to polish his hat. After that, Drake began pacing around the cage that held the Wolf creature, as he established what he would call it. For six minutes, he tried to find any vulnerabilities, strong points, soft spots and possible weapons.

After that, he got bored and instead decided to ponder over the fact that Ozpin made him leader of his own team of Hunter-Trainees, if they could even be considered that. He didn't so much think over what could be done with it, but instead wondered why.

Did Ozpin see something he didn't? Was it some kind of test? Or was Ozpin really just the fortunate madman some of the other mercenaries claimed him to be. Either way, until he could secure a way to escape, with Nicole, he would not try anything too rash just yet.

He didn't worry about Nicole because he knew that whatever happened, she could take care of herself, and if she couldn't, that was her own fault. Though he doubted that the Hunters of Beacon Academy were doing anything torturous to her.

A few moments later, the door slid open to reveal Ozpin, standing just outside the prison with a single Huntress standing behind him.

Abraham promptly got up and approached him. 'Ozpin, can I speak to you?'

The man smiled. 'Whatever it is can wait.' He simply said before turning his head to look at the other occupants of the prison. 'And how are we all doing today?'

To that, Drake walked slowly past Wolf's cage. 'Whatever it is you're trying to pull, I'll gladly cooperate if it means avoiding death, but I do not want to waste my time with small talk.'

To that, Ozpin's smile faded. 'Come now, can't we at least try to be friends?'

'I don't want friends.' Drake spat.

'Come now, everyone needs friends.' He began pacing around the room. 'If not friends, then what do you want?'

Drake was about to answer before he paused to think about the question. _Why is he asking me this? Why is it that no matter how I answer, I think he'll still win?_

So Drake decided to answer with a something that Ozpin might not expect. 'Necessity is the mother of invention. I want what I need.'

But Drake felt he had fallen for it as Ozpin smiled. 'Then what do you need?' he asked. Drake refused to answer any further, even when Ozpin asked again.

_I will not play into this any further. _This was the kind of situation which usually ended up with someone getting killed in Drake's experience. The dead person depended on who was more prepared.

'Very well, I assume you're all hungry.' Ozpin seemed to ask. To which Nathan replied by crawling out of his crevice.

'I would very much like to eat, thank you.' He said, politely.

'Excellent. Food will be arriving shortly, but in the meantime,' he walked right up to the cage. 'I should ask what you'd like to have.'

Wolf only shifted slowly towards Ozpin, red-dot aimed at him by the Huntress that had followed Ozpin. He put his face close to the bars as he hissed, 'Answers.'

Ozpin backed up slowly, waving to tell the Huntress to lower her weapon before speaking again. 'Well, I'll be glad to answer anything-'

'Not from you.' It hissed again.

This piqued the interest of everyone in the room, but it seemed that Ozpin was the most curious. 'Then who?' he asked, to which he got no answer.

After waiting for another minute, Ozpin broke off the eye contact to face the others in the room. 'Well, I suppose this can wait for another time. Rachel,' he indicated something to the Huntress, to which she left the room and returned a moment later. She was holding The Nightingale and the rest of Drake's gear.

Drake approached to relieve her of them, but she unceremoniously dropped them on the ground. Drake only gave her the pleasure of pausing, before squatting down to pick up his weapons. She left again and passed Abraham his axe, as well as tossing Nathan his pistols, to which he gave her the wink of an eye that she scoffed off.

Drake paid it no care as he felt the cool metal of his mask. He slipped it on and once again became The Sabre. Nathan slowly walked over to him as he was strapping on the leather sashes that held his throwing knives.

'You'll see. I'll have her in bed by tonight.' He stated, to which Drake gave no reply.

'Alright,' Ozpin said, making Drake look up from what he was doing. 'Today you will be given a task in order to evaluate your ability to work as a unit, as a team.' He said. 'You will be taken to a suspected terrorist hideout, and you will successfully capture the leader of that hideout as well as any terrorists willing to surrender.' He handed a touchpad over to Drake with a mugshot of a bald man with a thick moustache. 'The leader's name is Trevelyan, though he is more widely known-'

'The Impression.' Drake finished, getting a look from Ozpin before the touchpad was snatched out of his hands by Abraham.

'Yes, Mr. Venari. Also, the more prisoners you can bring in alive, the better your score will be.' Ozpin continued.

'We're being scored now?' Drake asked, to which he got no answer.

'And what if they're not willing to cooperate and come with us?' Abraham asked.

'You will eliminate any resistance. Though I would prefer if you didn't make a mess of the place.' He turned his attention towards the cage. 'Is that understood, Subject 226?'

He got a snarl-ish growl from the creature in reply. 'Good. Under supervision, you will have limited access to the Armoury in order to restock your ammunition. Then, you will be escorted to the landing pads where you will be taken to your assignment's location. Be warned; deviate from that path, and you will be killed.' His tone turned stern. 'That includes you, Abraham.'

Abraham visibly stiffened and replied. 'Yes, sir. That sounds easy enough.' He said, straightening out an arm to hand the touchpad back to Ozpin.

* * *

The Armoury was like a candy store to Nathan, as he had worked in a small village with limited supply. It was enough to get the stale breakfast off his mind. They had ammunition of all kinds as well as weapon parts and modifications, though he was disappointed to know that none of them were allowed to use them.

Taking only as much as he could hold on to without feeling stiff or uncomfortable, he was the first one out. He saw that Ozpin was waiting for them outside the armoury, and decided that this was a good a time as any.

He walked up to Ozpin and outstretched his hand. 'Professor Ozpin,' he addressed. 'I wish to apologize for our…heinous first meeting, but would just like to say thanks for giving me a second chance. As a Hunter-trainee no less.'

Ozpin seemed to think about this outburst for a moment, before taking Nathan's hand in a firm handshake. 'The pleasure is all mine.'

'I had always looked up to the Hunters of Beacon, and have heard many tales from the small village I lived in.'

'We do strive to train the best.' Ozpin said as he broke the handshake.

'And I will strive to meet those expectations.' Nathan said, patting his gun strapped to his thigh.

'Well, firstly you'll have to prove we can trust you, after what you did.' Nathan was about to reply, but Ozpin beat him to it. 'Ah, good. Everyone's ready. Shall we proceed?' Ozpin said as he walked down the hallway towards the landing pad.

And Nathan was made to follow, with a gun aimed at his back.

**A/N: If you hadn't noticed already, the thoughts of the characters will now be written in Italics and not in "quotations marks".**


	19. Chapter 15

The Simplest of Tasks pt 2

The airship was flying them somewhere towards the south-west of Vale, as far as Drake could tell. He had not been able to fix a digital map into his mask just yet, but he was planning on it as soon as he could. For now, he had to rely on landmarks that he had memorised to know where they were headed.

The south-west of Vale was a known industrial area, so he made his assumption from the multitude of factories in the area. He was almost tempted to ask the Judicator sitting next to him, but he enjoyed his ominously silent persona and decided to wear it like a cloak whenever he could; the less they knew of him, the better.

Everyone else sat still enough, aside from Wolf, who the Judicators had to hold down and bind with yet another set of giant handcuffs as well as a small device they stuck on his back.

It was just a few moments before the airship landed at least twenty meters from the designated building. It was a Dust Refinery-relatively old by the looks of the pipes-near the edge of the South-West district. The Judicators quickly filed them out as they began a jog to the building. Along the way, Sabre decided to ask, 'Do we know how many men there are in that building?'

The Judicator spoke quickly. 'The number ranges from twenty to thirty.'

'And weapons?' as he asked this, a rocket flew out of one of the windows of the refinery straight towards them. It missed and struck the pavement as the Judicators easily stepped out of the way.

'I think it's safe to assume they're well-armed.' Abraham replied, which was followed by another rocket that was aimed at the airship this time. It struck the ship in the engine and it looked like it wouldn't be flying in a while.

'Siege Formation.' The Judicator in command shouted as the others began to form a perimeter around the building while being peppered lightly with fire from the building. He turned to Sabre as he shouted, 'This is what your team is here for. You are to take your team inside and capture the leader of this cell.'

'Clear.' Sabre simply said before picking off a man at a window with one shot from the Nightingale. 'Abraham, I need you to move up and barge your way through the front entrance. Nathan will provide cover fire.' He ordered without turning around.

'Don't you tell me what to do!' He replied, extending his arm to reveal a small crossbow concealed in his bracer.

'That is an order as team leader, Linkin.' He said, more affirmatively, though he wasn't sure it had quite the same effect with the mask's distortion.

Abraham sized up to him. 'You are not my leader.' He hissed as he ran towards the sides of the building. He used his axe to blast apart the wooden-barred window and dived through.

'Dammit.' Sabre cursed, ducking out of the way of fire. He turned to Nathan. 'The order still goes for you; follow Abraham.'

'Fine, fine.' Nathan said, creating an illusion of himself with the wave of his hand and sent it straight into the line of fire. As the terrorists were focusing their fire on the illusion, Nathan ran after Abraham and crept through the window, trying not to scratch his outfit against the glass.

Sabre backtracked to where two Judicators were holding down a struggling Wolf. 'Hold that creature back. Take it somewhere it cannot do any harm.' The Judicators nodded in response as Sabre took off at a sprint.

He reached the front entrance of the building in seconds and stuck a knife into the old metalwork. He pulled the pin and took three steps back just as the explosion blew the door open. Un-slinging the Nightingale, he really wished that he had just died in the airship crash that day.

* * *

Ducking under the horizontal swing of a machete, Abraham barely had time to pull off an uppercut on the fox Faunus wielder and swing the Nightwither with a spin at another terrorist behind him.

Slicing the man across the chest, he ducked behind a crate to avoid a spray of bullets from several assault rifles along a catwalk above. _About time I stretched these. _He thought as he pulled on a slide that released the limbs to the crossbows in his bracers, his Ravens.

A quick flick of the wrists, and they were loaded with bolts from a revolving mechanism. In one fluid motion, he sprung up from his cover and flicked his wrists again to fire the two bolts into the two terrorists' stomach, incapacitating them.

He watched as a man armed with a short-sword charged forward, and listened as another charged at him from behind. With a quick swing to knock the sword away, he dispatched the man with a solid punch to the jaw. He turned around, ready to do the same to the other, but found that Nathan had already shot him dead.

In a burst of frustration, he yelled, 'We need them alive!' He turned a fired off a shot at some men hiding behind a few metal drums with his axe. 'Hold them off! I'll go after the leader.'

He didn't turn to see if Nathan was going to comply or not, but made a dash up the wall to the catwalks, where he had seen the man named Trevelyan. As he landed on the catwalk, he saw Trevelyan running around a bend, but the path was blocked by at least six men, all well-armed. 'Really? Only six?'

Just as he took up a fighting stance and the men took aim, he heard a loud shattering sound and wood cracking from below. He saw the men's attention break and rushed right up to them in a second, and threw them over the catwalk's railings.

Only then did he look down, to see the Wolf creature running rampant through the building.

* * *

_They cannot hold me. _Claws and shards out, he tore through the men like cardboard. _No one can hold me. _He thought as his claws went straight through the chest of one of the men, listening to the air rushing out of his chest cavity. This caught the attention of several other men, who chose to fire at him instead of Nathan, who was cowardly using tricks of the mind to hide from his enemies.

He relished the smell of blood as he flung a man from his stinger at a large container which leaked an amber fluid as his lifeless body dented the hard metal. Another man took aim and fired at him from a higher position, the shots hitting and grazing his flesh.

_Fool!_

He formed a ring of shards around him and fired them not at the man, but at the bridge he stood on. It only took a few shots before the man fell. In a single dash, Wolf was under him, impaling him with his claw and relishing the smell of blood.

'Drake, what's it doing here?' Nathan shouted, which Wolf caught on to as he knew they were referring to him.

'I don't know!' he shouted back. 'Bring it down and I'll secure it. Where is Abraham?' Wolf could see that they were both busy fighting their own skirmishes against more armed men, and decided this was the best time to make his escape.

'I think I saw him going…ngh, after the boss.' Nathan said, firing off a poorly timed, poorly aimed shot at Wolf, which he nimbly dodged.

'Dammit. Ok, forget the gunmen, we need to bring it down.' Drake said, leaping close to where Wolf stood, ripping apart a wounded man. _Only the strongest will survive._

'You!' he shouted. Wolf slowly turned around to see that he had drawn his two sidearms. 'Don't move.'

Wolf stood motionless for a moment, not to comply with his order, but to wait for the man behind him to regain consciousness and attack Drake.

What happened next played out over the course of five seconds. Drake noticed the man, turned to engage him and was knocked down with the man by a sweep of Wolf's claws. Then, Wolf jumped out the window. He landed along the pavement along with a shower of broken glass. He quickly sprinted straight through the city into the forest beyond.

_Now, the pack will answer to their,"Heretic"._

* * *

'The cut's not too deep, but you'd probably want to keep it from opening up anytime soon.' The nurse back at the Beacon Academy Infirmary explained to Nathan as he winched slightly at the stinging touch of an antiseptic.

'Y'know what's going to go deep? My-' he was cut off as Drake and Abraham walked in, arguing.

'Well if you'd just stick to my plan-'

'I already told you; I don't take orders from you!'

Nathan looked back to the nurse, 'Call me.' He said with a wink.

'But… I don't have your number.' She said, blushing slightly with a giggle. He handed her a business card with his name and number on it as he was grabbed by the sleeve by Abraham.

'Well then, you'd better start get used to it, because Ozpin put me in charge-'

'Why does Ozpin's word matter so much to you now, huh?' Abraham asked while pulling Nathan out of the Infirmary. 'Is it because he's the only reason you're not in a prison cell now?'

'Wait, where are we going?' Nathan asked, while being unwillingly dragged out of the infirmary towards Beacon's main elevator.

'We need to report this "Failure" to Ozpin immediately.' He said, putting extra emphasis on the word. 'The only reason we didn't go straight to him, is because you needed medical attention.' slamming his hand into the call button.

'What? So this is my fault?' Nathan asked, seriously not knowing his place in all of this. 'Besides, it was a huge gash.'

'I didn't say anything about this being your fault.' Abraham said turning back to Drake irritably as Nathan could tell.

'What I don't understand is what your issue is with following orders.' Drake said, clenching his chest below his left breast. 'Is there something wrong with the way my plan is carried out.'

Abraham shook his head sarcastically. 'There isn't really a problem with the way the plan is executed, but it's more the person that's giving them.'

'Why you-' Drake was stopped by the chime of the elevator door opening as well as a loud audible tap that followed a split second after.

All three of them turned to see Ozpin standing there, with a monotonous facial expression. Though there was something about his face, his stance, his Aura that made Nathan feel like he was in deep trouble.

'Ah, there you are, Mr. Venari.' He said in a tone that sounded calm enough. 'I've been waiting for your team's return for a debriefing.' He looked from Abraham to Nathan, then to Drake. 'I assume everything went according to plan?'

Abraham looked to Nathan-for what, he wasn't sure-before turning back to face Ozpin. Nathan could here Abraham swallowing hard, but he couldn't tell if Ozpin heard it. However, he was more than sure that he did. 'Well…' he sighed. 'Not exactly.'

**Dalast Note: Quick note. We just want to thank everyone who's kept up with the story this far. There is a lot more content on the way as well as the fact that we're working out the kinks of making this into a trilogy. Until next time. You're all Guardians to me reader.**


	20. Chapter 16

**A/N: This is the last of the stocked up chapters for now. A big shout-out to everyone whose kept up with the story this far. Also, we are now accepting OC Team submissions if anyone has any.**

A House Divided

There was nothing uncomfortable about the elevator ride, the engineers that had been hired to maintain and repair it were the best in the world. _So why do I feel so uncomfortable?_ Abraham turned to see Ozpin staring at him and realized why.

Moments later, the elevator reached Ozpin's office, and the feeling of putting distance between himself and Ozpin was a great relief. It was not that Abraham feared Ozpin, rather he revered him so highly, making a single mistake in front of him felt like getting hit by an arrow.

Ozpin walked back over to his desk-not saying a word-where Glynda was already waiting. She had a very annoyed look on her face, by her usual standards of course.

Ozpin sat back down and faced the three men, waving his hands nonchalantly. 'So,' He started, raising Abraham's anxiety again. 'Tell me where this all went wrong.'

* * *

Abraham was hot on the heels of the terrorist leader The Impression. Following close behind and easily barrelling through anyone that stood in his way. He hoped that his 'fearless leader' and that Nathan would be able to handle the Wolf creature while Abraham snagged the gold.

Abraham saw The Impression as he burst through a doorway, running down a staircase that led to a doorway out of the building. _Not just yet._ He thought, jumping down to the ground after him.

He ran after him, only to see The Impression hop into a car and begin speeding along the road. Abraham sighed, feeling the weight of the axe in his hand as he focused on the muscles in his arm, commanding them to perform in that short instance at one-hundred and ten percent. He hurled The Nightwither at incredible speeds at the car and sliced the left rear-wheel in half.

The car span out of control and crashed into a street lamp. Abraham walked over to the car at a brisk pace, whistling a cheerful tune as he walked by shocked pedestrians. He drew Arboria, smacking a bodyguard in the face as he exited the car.

Abraham swung the car door open as he pulled the well-built man out by the collar of his suit. Pulling the man inches away from his face, 'You're under arrest Trevel-' he stopped to turn at the sound of glass shattering.

Abraham saw the Wolf creature jump out the window and immediately break into a sprint for the east. Abraham stared, shocked, confused and irritated.

'What the-' he was cut off, yet again, as The Impression headbutt him in the face, causing him to stagger back. He loosened his grip on the man's collar, but that was all he needed as he broke free of the hold and kicked Abraham in the crotch. Abraham slumped to the grown in pain as The Impression wrestled a motorcycle off a bystander and drove away, leaving Abraham with his mouth wide open in a silent scream of agony. _Dammit._

* * *

'After that I tried to follow him, but by the time I rounded the same corner he did, he was all the way down the block.' And with that, Abraham's explanation was concluded. Ozpin sighed and shook his head solemnly, probably for Glynda.

'Professor,' Drake began, trying to be formal and dignified despite the pain in his chest, inflicted by The Wolf creature. 'This was not my fault, if Abraham would just-'

'The fault is on all of you!' Ozpin boomed, causing Drake to fall silent. 'If you had all just cooperated instead of arguing and acting like children, none of this would have happened.' He let out a breath, reclining in his chair. 'Now we need to recover Subject 226, and you and your team are in no shape to do that. You will return to the holding cell and reflect upon your actions.'

Drake had nothing left to say, so he remained quiet, assessing the reality but unsure of what to do with it.

'They may be weak, but I am still strong Ozpin. Let me go after the Subject.' Abraham declared, stepping forward slightly.

'If you are going to capture the Subject you must do so as a team, and your leader is in no shape to travel.' Ozpin said, causing Drake to tense up slightly.

_Is it that bad?_

'What do you mean? He's fine!' Abraham said, but when he got back no reply, he turned to Drake. He had no choice but to lift his arm and show everyone the slightly stained portion of his outfit. Because it was black, the blood was not very visible, but the presence of it was displayed with the dampness of his outfit.

'What kind of team member are you if you cannot even recognize your team's weaknesses, Abraham?' Ozpin asked, rising. 'Drake, you will be escorted to The Infirmary where you will be treated. Is that clear?'

As Drake turned to enter the elevator, escorted by the Judicators, he could clearly see that the remark had stung Abraham.

'Let it be known, Mr. Venari,' Ozpin continued, causing Drake to stop. 'That if you fail another task, you and the rest of your team will suffer the consequences.' He turned to address Ozpin, 'Is that understood.'

'Yes.' Was all he got out before he was shuffled along.

* * *

'Abraham, stay a moment. I would like a word with you.' This caused Abraham to tense up. He knew that whenever Ozpin held him back to speak with him, it was of great importance, good or bad. So he stayed where he was, not moving an inch until the elevator doors closed and the others were gone. Even then, all he did was relax slightly, though it did nothing to calm his racing heart.

'Professor, I-'

'Abraham, I cannot stress how disappointed I am in you.' The words cut deep into Abraham. 'You jumped the gun and ignored your leader's orders.'

'That's the thing; how could you have made him team leader?' Abraham didn't mean to sound like he was questioning Ozpin's choice, but Abraham felt that he had the right to an explanation.

'What has he done to make you question his decision making?' Ozpin asked, the tempo of the argument picking up pace.

'He's a criminal. An outlaw with no moral standings.' Abraham had thought this through very well already and his conscious was set.

'How do you know that? How can you judge him by what his label is?'

'How else am I supposed to judge him?' Abraham shouted, so loud, he realized, that it echoed for three more seconds around the room.

Ozpin was silent for a moment, before simply replying, 'Judge him by what he was, and what he has done for you.' He said calmly and quietly. 'I feel that if you get to know him better, you'll find that you have more in common with him than you think.'

'I've already read the files, so do not assume that we have any similarities just because his parents are dead as well.' Abraham almost felt like he had tried to spit at Ozpin, and he regretted it.

'You always see the best in good people, and the worst in bad.' Ozpin said cryptically. 'You never give people who haven't proven themselves more than a single chance.' He got up out of his chair and approached to pull Abraham into a light embrace. His height allowing him to rest his head on Ozpin's shoulder. 'Give them a chance, Abraham. I believe we can all learn something from them. If your instincts are telling you not to trust them, then trust me.'

Abraham felt a wetness in the back of his eye. 'I-I just wanted to make you proud. And I didn't know how I could do that without being team leader. So, I thought that if I could show you that I could handle the mission by myself, that you would make me team leader.' The words were choked as Abraham tried to supress his emotions.

'Oh, Abraham. You have given an uncountable number of people hope.' He let his arms drop. 'But hope is not a substitute for judgement. And your judgement is easily clouded by your emotions. Before you will be ready to lead, you must first be led by someone who can show you leadership.'

'Why them?' Abraham felt his throat burn with sorrow and confusion.

'Because your teammates have had to live on their own with no clear guiding hand.' Glynda spoke up. 'You have always heeded the advice of the teachers and both Ozpin and I, but you have never given orders yourself. And when placed in charge, your decisions were never…the best.' Abraham couldn't think back to a time when he made a bad call or was put in charge for that matter.

'Like when?' Abraham asked.

Glynda groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. 'Remember the time I put you in charge of cleaning up the labs and you-'

'Oh, right. You knew that was me?'

'Of course, but that's beyond the matter. Look,' Glynda's tone soften to an unusual level. 'There is only so much we can teach you, but these…individuals, they can continue where we left off.'

'But why them?' Abraham repeated. 'Isn't there anyone else better suited to teach me this?'

Ozpin placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, though it always felt like a shield to Abraham. 'In time.' That was all the hint Abraham needed to know that the conversation was over. 'Now, go back and make peace with your teammates.'

Abraham gave a solid nod and turned on his heels towards the elevator._ If Ozpin believes I can do it, I'll make him proud._

* * *

'Ok, you lost me. What happened after you drugged the governor?' Nathan asked.

'Well, after he fell asleep, I pretended to try to shake him awake, but I actually picked the passcard out of his pocket. Which allowed me to get into his data vault and find out where Lish was.' Drake explained.

'Yeah, I pulled that trick a while back as well. So you went after this Lish guy, then what?' Nathan asked, curious to see how much his persuasive skills could get out of this guy.

'Well-' Drake stopped as the doors to the room of the Infirmary opened to reveal a familiar figure.

'Hey, look. If it isn't Abraham. Come in,' he waved a hand in Drake's direction. 'Drake here was just telling a story.' A slight hint of sarcasm in his voice.

That seemed to make Drake not want to speak anymore by the look of his facial expression. Instead, he got up and approached Abraham, a calm look on his face. 'Look,' he began, his tone even. 'I don't blame you for not wanting to take orders from me. But if you think that I'll put up with the attitude you pulled back in that factory again, you're dead wrong.' Nathan could feel the intensity of the moment, hoping to whatever God that they wouldn't break out into a fight, for it would surely spell the end for Nathan.

'So the way I see it, you've got two options: One, you go back up to Ozpin, tell him you can't work with me and have me sent off to be hung. Or, you could work with me and shut your-'

'How's your wound?' Abraham cut in, leaving Drake's statement hanging in the air.

'What?' Drake seemed at a lost for a split second.

'I realise that the mission today was a…failure because of me. And I'm sorry for that.' Abraham seemed to struggle to maintain eye contact with Drake. 'But, as strange as it sounds, I believe that we can work together if we just…cooperate.' He seemed to strain to say the last word.

'Where is this coming from?' Nathan asked, finding the change in behaviour very odd.

'Did Ozpin cook up a speech on teamwork?' Said Drake, suspecting as much.

Abraham's mouth opened to say something but he couldn't find the words initially. 'Look, you have your reasons for being here, and I have mine. If you won't ask questions, I won't either.'

The room fell silent for a few moments before Drake broke it. 'I could use a little painkiller. The bleeding's stopped but it still hurts a little.'

Abraham moved over to a cabinet and pulled out a small bottle of pills. 'Y'know, next time you're in the Infirmary, you should actually, y'know, patch yourself up.'

'I'll do whatever I feel is adequate.' Drake replied, taking the bottle and downing two pills.

Abraham murmured something that Nathan couldn't here before speaking up again. 'So, any idea how we're going to find that Wolf thing?'


	21. Chapter 17

**A/N: This chapter is going to follow Wolf primarily and takes place during the end of The Simplest of Tasks part 2 and crosses over through to A House Divided and beyond. Enjoy.**

Heretic

Wolf was a black cloud as he sprinted through the streets of Vale. He barely paid attention to his surroundings, only the destination. He heard the gasps and screams of Humans and Faunus alike as they scattered like birds when he approached. _Weak. Only the strongest shall survive_. Glancing at them as he ran, Wolf could not help but feel tempted to feast, if only for the irony of them being the least safe in their greatest strongholds. _No time._ As he approached the wall the Human's used to shield them from the wild, he saw that they had set up a blockade of walls and armoured vehicles to halt his path.

_None can stop Death._

Using his Dark Shards like a Murkspinner's legs, he vaulted over the blockade and fired the shards out in every direction, hoping to impale the Humans as he did. Never slowing down, he formed more shards on the tips of his claws and scaled the wall in seconds. Never stopping once to lick his wounds, kill everything in his way, or even acknowledge the lowly creatures' presence, for he had a goal. One more important than the death of the Light…for now.

The forest was but a mere eighteen meters away from the wall, and Wolf was able to quickly cover that distance. He heard the sound of earth cracking around him as Human's with long-range weaponry tried to hit him, but miss every time.

Well…almost.

Just as he entered the forest, one bullet contacted the area below his neck, causing him to stumble to the ground. Wolf did not contemplate lying there any longer than was necessary for his limbs to work, and in seconds, he was back on his claws at full sprint.

_For every wound, I will carve ten thousand more. _He swore as he sprinted off through the dense forests, as the Sun started to slowly slide into the void.

* * *

As Wolf traveled, the day turned to twilight, and the twilight turned to night. As night fell, he could feel the presence of The Pack draw closer. He began to slow down, and shuddered slightly as a wave of fatigue washed over him. Even as he stood up completely straight, his senses heightened for danger of any kind, but all he heard was the chitter of small mammals.

He licked his fangs as he caught sight of one such mammal scuttling for cover in the hollow of a tree. He stalked towards the tree on all fours, and like a natural predator, he struck his claw into the hollow at the perfect angle. Removing his claw from the hollow, he held the bloodied corpse of the field mouse, and without a second thought, swallowed the creature whole.

He reveled in the feeling of the bloody, bony, furry mess passing down his throat, and after he had his fill he resumed his journey.

It wasn't long before he saw a Beowolf lurking among the trees, likely scouting the area. He knew it was one of his pack, for it not only bore the scent, but the scars of one who served under him. He dashed towards the Grimm, and, unfortunately for it, it didn't see him coming.

It howled in pain and surprise as Wolf dug his claws further into its shoulder. Wolf barked and growled dominantly, telling the Grimm Spawn that The Pack was his once more.

And that it would take him to it, or die.

He made his point clear as he dug his claws further into the seeping wound. He wondered for a moment how much torment the Beowolf would put itself through before revealing the location of The Pack to him, but it didn't take much as the Beowolf grovelled before him. Wolf begrudgingly released his hold on it, allowing it to lead the way.

* * *

The feeble creature limped its way through the forest, Wolf slashing it with his talons when its weakness angered until they reached a clearing, bathed in the light of the shattered moon.

There seemed to be no presence in the clearing for a few moments, but after the Beowolf was allowed to pant from both exhaustion and its wound, it gave a howl that echoed through the night.

It took a few moments, but a large Carvus Grimm suddenly materialized out of nothing in the center of the clearing. Though this was no ordinary Carvus, for its antlers were more like bent, barbed spears that grew out of his head and acted as a twisted thicket to protect its front. It also had large plates of bony armor covering most of its body.

_So, this is who would take my place? A meager stag? _

After that, Grimm began crawling their way towards Wolf out of every direction from the edges of the clearing. All kinds of Grimm appeared from the lowly swarms of Jagged Haze to the imposing King Taijitu. It seemed that the entire pack was here.

_Good._

Wolf turned to the Carvus, who growled and whinnied commands for Wolf to turn back the way he came.

_I shall not back down from an impostor!_

Wolf barked back in challenge, and the Carvus prepared itself to run Wolf through with its antlers. Wolf had little doubt that he would devour this pathetic _deer_…but that was the problem.

He had doubt.

For all his strengths that he had gathered before, he had done so with a Pack on his side, not against him. He let out a howl of command to his Pack, commanding them to join his side of the conflict and put an end to this impostor.

However, none would follow him. Not Beowolf nor Ursa. He was alone. He had lost his authority over The Pack by allowing himself to be captured and used by the Humans. Not to mention, he had been away too long, a new Alpha was bound to take his place.

The Carvus growled and whinnied more, warning him of his last chance and that he had no authority over the Grimm anymore.

_Then I shall take it back._

Wolf took up a stance of challenge, even though he knew what it entitled. Challenging the Alpha would mean challenging The Pack.

_How challenging could a cowardly thief be? _He thought to himself, preparing his shards.

The Carvus screamed its acceptance of his challenge and immediately began charging forward at a great speed. The antlers were too large to jump over, so Wolf dodged aside. Using the momentum, he spun around and attempted to throw one of his shards into the Alpha, but it had disappeared.

He had a more pressing matter, as an Ursa began barreling its way towards him. He extended his stinger and let it hang as he dodged around the Grimm. As he was clear of its charge, he pulled his stinger towards him as hard as he could, impaling the Ursa in the chest.

Wolf didn't let up as he pulled harder until he swung it towards two Beowolves, leveling them completely. It landed with a thud, and Wolf ran his claws across its neck, spilling its black blood all over the grass.

His victory was short lived, as the Alpha reappeared and impaled him on its antlers before crashing him through several trees. Wolf tried desperately to stop its charge by striking shards into its armored neck and breaking off the antlers, but the armor was simply too tough and breaking off the ends of the antlers did nothing. He felt them dig deeper into him as stinging pain coursed through his body.

Just when he thought he was going to go limp from the pain, the Alpha stopped abruptly and flung its head back and forth, flinging Wolf back into the clearing in the forest. His limp body rolled across the floor for a moment before he stopped at the feet of an Ursa. It picked him up and attempted to rip him in half, but Wolf was not so easily bested. In its grasp, he dug his claws deep into the Ursa's arms, its eyes glinting with terror a moment before Wolf ripped them off, driving the Ursa's own disembodied claws into its skull.

Wolf, fueled further by rage alone, looked around for his next adversary, and was quick enough to dodge a swing of the Alpha's antlers. While it was still in recoil because of its attack, Wolf took the opportunity to run along its side, slashing at every point as he did.

He turned to face his enemy, noticing that he still hadn't been able to make a flesh wound. He was about to ready himself, when four Beowolves ran to his sides and held his arms and legs in place. The Alpha turned to charge once more while Wolf frantically formed more and more shards to strike the traitorous Beowolves in the neck. By the time he was able to pry himself from their grip, the Alpha had already charged towards him and had once again caught him by its antlers. However, this time it dragged him across the ground, leaving a large patch of upturned earth wherever he went.

Eventually, it stopped and flung him into the air. Wolf's body ached with unimaginable pain, but he continued to push past it and attempted to catch the Alpha by its antlers with his stinger. But before he could even launch the stinger, a Great Nevermore swooped down and caught him by his arms with both of its legs. It soared high into the air before closing its wings towards its body into a nosedive, towards the Alpha.

Wolf tried hard to free himself from its grasp, but he was too spent and had exhausted his power previously. The best he was able to do was form and stick a single shard into the Nevermore's talons.

It wasn't enough.

A few meters away from the ground, the Nevermore quickly opened up its wings and flung Wolf towards the ground. The Alpha was already waiting, its head reared back for the forward swing. Wolf plummeted towards it, refusing to accept that he had lost but too weak to do anything about it. The Alpha swung its head up and Wolf felt every second of the agony of having the Alpha's antlers pierce right through his body. His arms, torso and one of his legs had large holes in them. At that point, Wolf was beginning to think it was over, but he knew it was far from it. With one, strong swing of its head, the Alpha Carvus flung Wolf off its antlers and sent him spiraling towards the woods.

_I will not be defeated by a coward. _Wolf thought, getting back up to his feet. Try as he might, he was immediately knocked back down by a Boarbatusk. It snorted at him, scraping its hooves against the ground in challenge, taunting him to get back up only to be knocked back down again.

Wolf, though in his weakened state, accepted the challenge and slowly got back up, but this time with a plan in mind. The Boarbatusk charged at him once more, but he quickly enveloped it in his cloak as he dodged the attack. He then hurled the Boarbatusk in his cloak against a tree, stunning it and giving him the time necessary to run his claws straight through its body.

Wolf quickly took note of his surroundings, anticipating the Alpha to be cowering behind Wolf's traitorous underlings, who still could not recognize their true Alpha. When he did not see the sly thing, he took a moment to feed his fury off his wounds. But as he did, he found that his wounds were much greater than he realized, collapsing to the ground on one knee as black vapor seeped out of openings in his flesh, giving way to a new emotion, fatigue.

He felt his arms grow weaker as the seconds passed, but not with a weakness of strength, it was like his arms were hollowing out from the volatile blood that seeped out of his wounds. Wolf knew that this battle would only lead to his death. And this time, there would be no Pack to protect him. He needed to gain more power, consume more Alphas. But he could not do it alone. He needed a new Pack that he would lead into his crusade for power, and revenge.

He quickly got to his feet, ready to go anywhere as long as it was away from the Alpha.

Preparing to retreat, he heard the unmistakable sound of the Alpha's hooves scraping the ground. Wolf turned around to see it standing there, baring its fangs, taunting him to try and run. Wolf only offered a grimace before turning and sprinting through the bushes in a blur of darkness.

* * *

The Alpha stood victorious in this small battle, but his pack would not be rid of this blight until the source had been destroyed, it knew that much.

It growled in anticipation at picking up The Heretic's scent-the weak, self-proclaimed Alpha who had allowed himself to be captured by the feeble creatures of Light. The Alpha had brandished its fangs and fought for this place in the pack, and he would not lose it to some Spawn-Bile.

A Beowolf crawled next to the Alpha, looking for guidance from its leader. The Alpha gave several grunts and growls, but the message came across clear.

_Hunt down the Heretic. Tear him apart._

* * *

Wolf was on the verge of total exhaustion, as he constantly heard the cries of Grimm close behind him, he continued to run.

The world was a spinning blur to him, as he stumbled through the roots and bushes of the undergrowth, his life seeping into the ground. He heard the padded feet of the Beowolves, and was sucked into memories alien to him.

Running. He was _scared_. He heard the padded feet of Beowolves, and stumbled forward. His feet ached, ever since the Father had unleashed the Beowolves to hunt. "Only the strongest will survive." he said.

He had been running ever since.

They were getting closer. His legs gave out, collapsing into the underbrush. He could see them now, great, looming creatures to his eyes. He raised his hand, and to Wolf's horror, it was pale and fleshy, a weak and frail thing, something worthy of contempt from the Grimm. This was what he used to be.

Wolf awoke, hearing the footsteps of The Pack. He ran, faster than he ever had, on the last dregs of his stamina.

He saw the light of Vale.

It was beautiful.


	22. Chapter 18

**A/N: We here at the Fanbase have noticed a considerable absence of submissions for OC's. And to that we say, please send your OC's! I have taken it upon myself to reveal a new offer as to have your OC appear for as many as a dozen chapters in total if you are one of the first twenty to submit your OC. Details on OC submission can be found…in one of the chapters a few ways back.  
PS: We love RWBY Volume 3!**

**Disclaimer: We do not own RWBY or any related products. All rights to RWBY go to Monty Oum. Yes, I said Monty. This still belongs to him and we all know it, because he is not gone. He is still with us in his work.**

Venting Anguish

Drake had not expected his day to begin with being pinned to the floor by his teammate, Abraham. He had a strong lock on his arms as he tried to drag his axe over by his foot. Drake used the off balance opportunity to sweep-kick him in the other foot. This put Abraham off-balance which allowed Drake to roll out of the way in the thick of the tussle.

Another roll and he was at the Nightingale's side. 'You're going to have to try a lot harder than that.' He remarked as Abraham got up and retrieved his axe.

'Just don't squirm and cry too much when you "accidentally" lose a limb.' Abraham returned as he was off in a burst of speed. Drake immediately took up a defensive position, getting ready to parry or deflect whatever Abraham had in store for him. But he had not thought to watch out for his staff, which flew out of his hand in mid-sprint straight towards him.

Drake quickly deflected it before putting up a shield in front of him to block Abraham's strike. The axe made contact several times, which Drake could manage easily before Abraham was pushed back by a blast from his own axe. He slid back a meter and a half away from Drake.

'What was that? Some kind of Hand-shield?' Abraham asked as he straightened himself out of his crouched stance.

'It's Ward, actually.' Drake replied swinging his halberd around and firing off a shot while he jumped, propelling him forward straight at Abraham.

They're two weapons made contact over and over again as Abraham spoke. 'I've. Never. Seen. A Ward. Like that. Before.'

Drake caused him to stagger backwards by slamming the blade like end into Abraham, causing nothing but a small bruise because of Abraham's strong Aura. 'Neither have I.' he murmured to himself.

'I think that should conclude this duel.' Glynda announced, stepping in between the two and giving both a wary glare.

Abraham lowered The Nightwither before quickly sheathing it into the small slot on his back. 'I agree, Glynda.' Abraham just wanted a preview of Drake's fighting style first-hand. Sure, he had fought against him before, but he didn't have the chance to study his fighting style, not to mention their fights were short.

Glynda gave him a sterner look, 'Mr. Linkin. Need I remind you that while you undertake standard Hunter training, you will refer to me professionally as Miss Goodwitch.'

Abraham let out a tense sigh, having a feeling that this was coming. 'Yes, ma'am.' He murmured. He looked around the near-empty arena he called "The Pit", spying Nathan watching from the above bleachers with an amused smirk on his face. 'How about you, Grey? You want to take me on?'

Nathan chuckled lightly as he began walking around the railings towards the staircase that would lead him down to the base of the arena, escorted by two Protectors the whole time. Moments later, he reappeared in one of the entranceways to the base of the arena. 'Just pass me my guns and I'll show you how fast you can really run.' He held out both his hands to his sides, palm up while wearing a cocky smile.

Glynda nodded to the Protectors guarding him and they pulled out his pistols from holsters each of them wore. They put them in his hands and he holstered them, getting into his own battle stance.

'Mr. Venari,' Glynda began. 'If you would kindly hand over your weapons to the Protectors…' she left the request hanging as he handed over his weapons to them and were escorted out of the arena. Glynda followed behind, eyeing the new combatants as she shut the door of the large archway.

Five seconds later, she reappeared among the railings in the bleachers above as she shouted, 'Begin!'

* * *

Nathan's draw was quite impressive as he fired off three shots in quick succession. Abraham nimbly avoided or deflected each shot. He kept moving in an arc around Nathan as he emptied one of his pistols before drawing the next and firing a couple of shots before stopping.

Abraham slowed down from his sprinting to a brisk walk. 'What's the matter? Getting cold feet?'

'You're trying to make me run my guns dry so you can move in for a quick finish aren't you?' Nathan asked, his second gun still raised.

Abraham raised both of his arms to the air. 'You have me figured out! So why don't we finish this?'

'Go ahead.' Nathan replied before continuing to fire his gun. Abraham started sprinting in a curved arc that allowed him to slowly get closer and closer to Nathan. He was two meters away from him when he heard his gun click dry and he scrambled to slot in another clip.

Abraham saw this as his opening and charged forward before ramming the blunt end of Nightwither into Nathan's chest…only to find that he had hit air.

'Forget something?' Nathan's voice called out from across the arena where Abraham turned just in time to see him slipping two new clips into his guns. 'I didn't apply to Beacon with no clue how to handle myself.'

Abraham made a bee-line straight for Nathan, blocking-but mostly dodging-explosive shots as he approached. 'What do you mean…apply? You. Were. Imprisoned.'

'There are things you don't know about me, Abe.' He said as he charged straight towards Abraham. Abraham steeled himself only to find it was another illusion. Then he was kicked in the back by the real Nathan and felt the warm metal of the gun barrel being pressed to the back of his head. 'One of them is that I applied to Beacon prior to my capture in order to become an official Hunter.' He said with a sense of awe and purpose to his words.

'There are things you don't know about me either.' Abraham murmured as he span while pushing himself off the ground. With his axe in hand, he effectively knocked both guns out of Nathan's hands and continued his spin to kick him to the floor. 'One being that I don't like being called that.'

Nathan let out a breath, 'Noted.'

* * *

'I'm afraid that will have to conclude this sparring session.' Ozpin said from the bleachers, causing a surprised Drake to spin around rather quickly.

'Professor Ozpin, I believe that the lessons-'

'I am not referring to the lessons, Ms Goodwitch. This morning at 5am, Subject 226 was recaptured.' Ozpin began, drawing a surprised look from Abraham.

'You mean you captured him?' he shouted from the arena base, quickly moving to open the door that would lead him to the bleachers.

'Actually, surprising as it may sound, he turned himself over.' Ozpin said, this time drawing a surprised expression from Drake.

'Wh-what do you mean, turned himself over?' Drake asked, looking over to Glynda for some reason.

'Unknown.' He lied, as he had several ideas as to why Wolf would do this. 'But he did not resist capture nor showed signs of bothering to put up a struggle when he entered the premises. He is being detained in Detention Block 5 and we have arranged for you to meet with him as we interrogate him. He is after all; your teammate.'

'That thing may be many things, but I don't think we exactly consider him our teammate.' Abraham said, slightly out of breath from running up the stairs to where they were.

'Then start considering him as a teammate now.' Ozpin snapped. He has had a lot of experience throughout his long life, but there was always something about Abraham's rebellious nature that stirred the impatience within him.

Abraham sighed, 'Yes, sir.' The form of a downcast look forming on his face.

Just as Nathan appeared in the staircase, a Protector grabbed him while another relieved him of his guns.

'If you will follow the Protectors, you will be escorted to Detention Block 5.' Ozpin instructed as the members of Team DAWN fell into line and began following one of the Protectors.

_There might be hope for them yet._ He thought before Glynda spoke up.

'We both know why Wolf came back.' Ozpin should've expected Glynda wanted to discuss things. She always had so many questions and so many things to say.

'If he was truly excommunicated from The Pack and survived, then I see two ways this can play out.' Ozpin explained, following behind the Protectors slowly and keeping his voice to a whisper.

'Let me guess. The first one being he's trying to infiltrate us to strike from within in order to reconcile with the rest of The Grimm.' Glynda said in a whisper of her usual voice.

'That would be what I was thinking.'

'Then what is the second possibility?' Ozpin looked into her deep, green eyes that are always full of unanswered questions and always taking his breath away.

'The second possibility would be that since he has been excommunicated from The Pack, he now seeks another pack that he can grow among in order to exact his revenge. Though this is highly unlikely.'

Glynda released a sigh. 'So, what is the strategy?'

'It will be the same as before, only this time, instead of trying to turn him into a weapon, we shall try to turn him into a loyal ally.' Glynda looked at him with a bemused look.

'I'll have the labs set up in Atlas to begin the probing proce-' Ozpin cut her off again.

'No probes.'

'Excuse me?' she asked in confusion, looking up from her Scroll.

'I said; No probes.' Ozpin insisted.

'Then how do you suggest we go about controlling him?' Glynda asked, looking lost as to where Ozpin was going with this. 'Shall I call in a Willbender? How about chemical mind-control?'

Ozpin looked forward to Team DAWN-minus Wolf-as he spoke. 'How about compassion.'

* * *

The walk down to the cell block was long and embarrassing. Well, to Nathan at least. He couldn't say the same for the others as they passed some of the students of Beacon Academy, running about their errands or heading to classes. _That should be me. _He thought to himself grimly. _I shouldn't have to be escorted about like a prisoner. I was so close to entering Beacon…as a student. _He thought back to the member of staff he had harassed, and then try to resist arrest.

_How was I supposed to know that the teachers here would be so hot?_ he thought, eyeing some of the shapely Huntress-trainees. His trance was broken by a shove by the Protector behind him.

'Keep to the line.' His raspy voice came out as they were shuffled into an elevator, getting wayward glances from students who likely whispered gossip about them.

The elevator took them down underneath Beacon. The idea of building a prison to hold dangerous prisoners underneath an academy designed to train Hunters muddled Nathan. On one hand, an outbreak could be easily detained should the Academy allow Second or Third Year students handle it. On the other, an outbreak could injure or even kill several First Years. Then again, these were desperate times and as far as he knew, Vale wasn't exactly a peace-loving utopia, yet.

It was a short walk before Nathan arrived at the all-too-familiar prison block where he had spent what felt like an eternity. Upon entering, he saw Wolf back in his cage, but this time he was bound by large chains to the floor and ceiling.

Ozpin waved a hand towards the Protectors. 'Leave us.' He commanded and they stepped out of the room and shut the door behind them.

'So, Wolf. Mind explaining why you disobeyed orders, killed two Judicators and ran away?' Ozpin continued. As Nathan approached, he could see that Wolf looked very docile. The look on his face was that of a heavily tranquilized animal.

Wolf only let out a low growl before Ozpin continued. 'You know, the Protectors and Judicators are still very unhappy with you and the rest of the team. They said, and I quote, "Are tired of this freak-show crap." After the incident at the factory, the commander-in-chief of the Judicators came forth and strongly suggested that I allow for the order to execute you as well as give punishment to the others for homicide, terrorism, reckless illegal actions, sexual harassment as well as many others.' Nathan gulped, knowing what was coming his way if things turned out like that.

'So, I'm putting forward an option for all of you.' he said, turning for a moment to address the other people in the room. 'You can all accept the charges of your crimes.' He glanced at Abraham. 'Including you Abraham.'

'You said-'

'I said I could cover your tracks if you didn't get caught.' He interrupted. 'You are in fact, very fortunate for only being charged for destruction of Schnee Dust Company property.' He returned to addressing the team. 'You can face the consequences of your actions, and never have to see each other again. Or, I can erase the incident. Give you all one last chance, and if you prove yourselves, maybe there will be a place for each of you in Beacon. But let me warn you all,' Ozpin's voice turned stern. 'If you cross me again, do something reckless that causes another mess, then you will all be executed.'

Nathan looked to Drake, who had remained unfazed throughout the whole ordeal. He looked to Abraham, who was too stunned to speak. He looked to Wolf, who just looked on with a blank expression. Then Ozpin continued. 'This will have to be a unanimous decision.'

'I'm all in.' Nathan's response was almost instant.

Drake visibly swallowed and let out a shallow breath. 'I'm in as well.'

Nathan turned his gaze to Abraham, who shook his head for a moment before replying. 'Yeah, sure.'

All three of them turned their attention to Wolf, whose dark-red eyes seemed fixed on Ozpin. 'Well, Wolf? What is your answer?' Ozpin asked, taking a step closer to the cage, so that if he reached out his arm he could very well touch the electric-charged wiring that wrapped the cage.

Wolf raised his head ever so slightly before speaking. 'Let the hunt continue.'

Ozpin seemed to think on the words for a few moments before letting out a breath. 'I'll take that as a yes.'

**A/N: I'd just like to say that I really appreciate all you loyal followers and favorites, and to tell your friends, family, dog. And that I'd really like to hear from you guys how this is going so far, even if you're just joining us on this long ride. Another thing is that if you've noticed a change in writing style, it is because the title of Lead Writer has been passed from The Editorial to me, Dalastjedi.**

**I'd also appreciate it if you could tell me whether you enjoy my writing style, as I hope to make more than a hobby out of it.**


	23. Chapter 19

B Team

_Another stale meal_. Though, Nathan didn't expect to be served a gourmet meal because of his current position, though he had heard a lot about the level of commandment the chefs at Beacon got.

From the way he heard it, they were some of the best chefs in Remnant. _Figures. _He thought. _Top of the line Hunter school's gotta have a good breakfast, lunch…. and dinner…if the students survived that long._

He picked at his plate, trying to make out what exactly he was eating. It wasn't repulsive in smell or taste, but it didn't look too appealing and had a distinct texture about it. The grey-haired man was able to make out half a slice of bread, a chunk of meat, with what he hoped was tomato soup as a sauce. Aside from that, there was this strange vegetable paste and what he thought might be mashed potato.

'Do you think they actually hire people to make this stuff?' he asked no one in particular. 'Or if they just scrape whatever's left off what the students eat and make it look like food.'

'Huh?' came the reply from Abraham.

'Y'know, the prison food.' Nathan gestured towards his plate. 'Do you think they actually hire people to cook this stuff?'

The dirty-blonde haired boy let out a sigh. 'I don't see what the problem is. I grew up eating this stuff.'

Nathan paused for a few moments. 'You mean you spent a lot of time in prison?'

'No! I mean that this is standard Hunter rations. The only difference is that this is the moist version. You'd have to learn to start eating this stuff if you advanced to third-year training.'

Nathan found it interesting how Abraham knew this, but then again, he did seem like he's lived his life at Beacon. 'So, what? You're some kind of child prodigy?' Nathan inquired, tentatively sipping at the vegetable paste.

'Well, I-' Abraham stopped himself mid-sentence. 'I don't feel inclined to tell you my life story.

"That's fine. I don't feel inclined to tell you mine.' Nathan replied with a smirk. 'So, they do have people cook this stuff then?'

Abraham let out a low groan. 'Yes, for the love of God. They have people cook this stuff.'

'Cool.' He turned to the mercenary, who had remained quiet the entire morning. 'Hey, Drake. You wanna…' he stopped as he realized Drake had not touched his food, and was instead mumbling to himself. 'Hey, Remnant to mercenary.' He said, this time in more of a shout. This startled Drake from his sitting position on his little hollowed-out section of the wall, causing him to almost spill the contents of his steel tray.

'W-what?' he stuttered, clearly not in the present moment. Nathan put this into consideration as this was the second time he's seen him space out, and made a mental note to inquire further into the reasoning behind this.

'You, umm. Nevermind.' And with that, he went back to eating his breakfast.

'I have to ask; what is with that spacing out?' Asked Abraham, putting his down his just-about-empty tray.

'I already told you, it's nothing.' He replied flatly again.

'No, nothing is that it happens once and never again.' Abraham replied. 'I'm going to find out eventually, you know that right?'

'Good, try to act surprised when you find out, unless you're not.' He said, before downing his cup of water.

* * *

So far from the Pack in both mind and body, Wolf could only think of vengeance. Vengeance at their betrayal by any means necessary. He would be a weapon of the Humans until the day came when they clashed with his Pack and he would use them to regain his rightful place among the Grimm. Then he would kill them. Every last one. No remorse until only Grimm reigned and an age of Grimm would set in with him as their vanguard.

He would usher in a dark age, but for now, he would help the Humans settle their petty squabbles, like insects scurrying for cover in rain. Should they try to kill him, Wolf would let them. _None can hold me_.

He thought little of the sustenance they gave him, a leg of cattle, as he tore through the bloody meat with his teeth. Ripping through the tendons, the others paid little mind to him, so he took this moment to revel in the smell of blood. However, there was no satisfaction in the smell now, for he did not see the terrified eyes of this creature as he ripped it apart limb from limb.

His hooded head turned upwards slowly as the sound of the door to the prison slid apart. It was the man they all referred to as "Ozpin". He sauntered in, looking first to Wolf, then to the others. 'Finish up and prepare to get moving. We have a situation.'

The one in the hat, Abraham, stood up and approached Ozpin. 'What kind of situation?'

'We've caught word that surviving members of the United Coalition are meeting with spies from Vacuo to sell information that could compromise Vale security.' Ozpin said, handing Abraham the touch-pad with the information on it.

'Figures, Vacuo have had it out for Vale ever since the Three Week War. But why would they make nice with the Coalition?' Nathan asked.

'Unknown. Your mission is simple, we want those operatives dead. They are meeting in the construction site of the Palladium building, and as such, we will be sending you in to eliminate all the targets as well as gather whatever information you can about this alliance. After that, you are to set off a bomb at the base of the construction site in order to cover your tracks.'

'Why the theatrics? Why not just send in a clean-up crew and dispose of the bodies?' Drake asked.

'Because we want as little people involved as we can.'

'They why not just set off the bomb under the building and get clear?'

'Because, Mr. Venari, these are highly trained operatives and surviving members of a former-dictatorial coalition. They would likely survive the collapsing building and escape to report to their superiors that they had been compromised, and once the building collapses, it will likely attract the attention of the press, which means that we can't have you searching for them through the rubble.' He said, earning an understanding nod from Drake as he moved out of the doorway to let two armed men through. They immediately approached the cage and unlocked it with the swipe of a card. One swung the doors open while the other stuck his catch-pole around Wolf's neck. With a tremendous effort, the Protector hurled Wolf across the prison cell and pinned him to the wall next to Ozpin.

'For further safety reasons, Wolf, your tracking device is being modified.' He said as the other Protector nailed his wrists to the wall with a nail gun. He grunted in pain as the nails stuck his arms to the wall with such force that he could feel the cracks they made against the wall.

'Instead of simply tracking you,' he explained as a third man, out of his vision held his head to the wall and stuck a device against his neck. 'The device will now detonate, severing your head from your body if you do anything that may even seem like you're not worth another second.'

The device against his neck created a pricking sensation, like a long tube was entering his spine. Though he wanted nothing more than to rip out all their windpipe and drown them in their own blood, he needed to comply in order to gain their trust and exact his revenge.

The sensation was over in seconds, the man removed the device before helping the second Judicator remove the nails from his wrists, causing some blood as black as the void to spill onto the floor and walls.

He turned to Ozpin in a flash, causing the Judicators to go for their weapons and Ozpin to hold up a small device in his hand. He flicked the cap of the device open with his thumb, then caressed the button underneath it. 'This is the device,' he said flatly. 'That controls the bomb in your neck.' There was a pause that went on for a couple of seconds before he tossed the device to Drake.

The mercenary caught it and looked to Ozpin. 'As team leader, I am assigning you responsibility over Wolf's…leash.' Drake stared at the small red button on the device. 'However,' Ozpin continued, causing Drake to snap his vision back onto Ozpin. 'If you do happen to use the device, I want a good reason why-with confirmation from your team-as to why you chose to do so.'

Ozpin's gaze flicked to Abraham. 'And I want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Is. That. Clear?' Ozpin's voice began to get louder.

Abraham nodded his head quickly without hesitation. His vision flicked back to Drake, who gave him a stern nod before sliding the device into a slot in his belt.

Wolf caught sight of a small smile grace Ozpin's lips before he turned and made a hand gesture. 'Excellent. If you will all follow me, Rachel will hand you your weapons. After that, you have forty seconds to grab whatever ammunition you need from the armoury. Leave your trays here.' After that, all the other Humans began scrambling for the door, while Wolf was still being held against the wall by the metal catch-pole.

* * *

_Twelve._

Abraham was busy looking over which Dust he might need as he counted the seconds by. _Hostiles. Thirteen. Skyscraper. Fourteen. Eliminate the targets. Fifteen. _

He was reaching for the Ice Crystals when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was a quick pat, but it was all that was needed for him to turn around and face Drake.

Three seconds passed by before Drake spoke up. 'Can I count on you?' he said slowly, pocketing different vials of Dust while never breaking eye-contact with Abraham.

Abraham took in a deep breath before replying. 'We'll see.' _Twenty one._

Drake let out a sigh as he slipped on his mask and turned to the ammunition rack. Abraham was glaring daggers at the mercenary while his back was turned, but thought about what Ozpin had said the two days before and decided to just get it over with. _If Ozpin believes I can do this…_

He was grabbing a few more shells on his way out, when he was met with a peculiar sight. Just before passing through the doors, he saw that Nathan had pinned Rachel against the wall near the entrance, their lips locked in a passionate kiss and their eyes closed, unaware of Abraham's presence.

Abraham was slightly creeped out by the sight, seeing as how he couldn't imagine stern ol' Rachel could've fallen for Nathan. He decided to just shrug it off and shake him off, seeing as an explanation wouldn't be appropriate at this time. 'I hope you've got everything you need.'

This caused Rachel to gasp in shock and push Nathan off her. 'Abraham.' Her eyes were huge with shock and confusion at how to continue. 'T-this. I-I mean… its n-not what it l-looks like.' She stammered as she glared at Nathan.

Nathan just shrugged. 'Think I've got everything I need.' He turned to Rachel with a wink. 'Isn't that right?'

'W-well-' she continued to stammer just as a Judicator walked in.

'Times up.' She turned to give him a salute for some reason, still looking rather flushed.

Abraham ignored it, making an effort to remember to ask Nathan about it later, exiting the armory to where Wolf was waiting-pinned against the wall and having a taser prodded into him now and then by Judicators.

* * *

Sabre was conflicted between remaining professional, and asking Abraham why the stern Huntress from earlier looked so flustered every time she glanced in Nathan's direction. He felt it in the back of his mind as reality slowly shattered around him once more.

_Don't forget to take it easy now and then. Life isn't all hard work._

_I know, dad._

_No! No more! _He forced himself out of the memories. The memories of a brighter past. _I can't think of him! _He shook his head once more before continuing, trying his hardest to focus on the now.

'Hustle!' the Judicator ordered. 'We haven't got all day!' he said as he shoved the end of his rifle into Sabre, causing him to stumble slightly.

'Give him a break, man.' Nathan spoke up, keeping pace. 'He's had a rough-'

'Sabre!' a familiar voice called out as they exited the building they were in into the open courtyard. He turned in its direction and his gaze immediately fell on the blonde woman wearing slim-fitting leggings and a vest over a marble-colored wrist-length shirt who was jogging up to him.

'Archer,' he acknowledged before turning back to the Judicator that continued to edge him along. 'I'm a bit busy right now.' Though he wouldn't admit it, he was glad that she was still ok.

'Right! Yeah, just wanted to say…' her gaze fell on the other members of his team, particularly Wolf. '…hi.'

'There it is!' cried a voice from behind her. Sabre adjusted his vision to see what looked like a Judicator attempting to load his shotgun with fried chicken wings before switching to shotgun shells as he approached Sabre.

He was ready to draw his weapon when Nicole stepped in the Judicator's way. 'Whoa, slow down Leroy.' She said in a voice that sounded like…a command.

'Wait, are you…a team leader?' he asked as the commotion brought the attention of more Judicators.

'Yeah!' she chanced a glance at Sabre. 'Great, isn't it?' She said as she wore a large grin before turning back to the Judicator as he was trying to push past her. 'Leroy! For the love of all that is deep and fried, calm down!'

'Stand down, hot wings!' one of the Judicators yelled as he tried to pull Leroy away as he began taking aim at Wolf.

'All this talk of deep fried hot wings is makin' me hungry.' He muttered. 'Hungry for justice!' he finally broke past Nicole and charged at Wolf. With a single kick to the side of the knee, he brought Wolf down on one leg and knocked him to the ground with the back of his shotgun.

'Put the weapon down!' the Judicator said, threatening Leroy with a taser.

'I don't take orders from you anymore! I'm a Hunter-in-training!' he yelled, drawing the attention of some passing students.

'Drake, what's going on?' Nicole whispered over to him as they watched the Judicators struggle with Leroy, getting Abraham and Nathan involved by trying-though without much vigour-to defend Wolf.

Before he could reply he was shoved into the fray by a Judicator. 'Hey, get control of your team!'

Though he wished he could just slit the Judicator's throat that instant, he knew that he was just doing his job, and that he might as well not cause another incident. At least, while he didn't have a plan of escape just yet. 'Alright, Linkin, let's get moving. You too, Grey.'

'Hidden from the Eagle.' He said to Nicole, and she nodded with understanding, moving back to try and calm down the Leroy.

They resumed their journey to the landing pads, albeit at a faster pace, as they watched the Judicators and the rest of Nicole's team try to calm down the renegade Judicator. He only stopped his struggles as another Judicator-a girl-put her hand on his shoulder. She, like Leroy, didn't look like the standard Judicator as she wore less armour.

They held a stern eye-contact for a few moments before he relaxed and was shoved backwards by a pair of Judicators. Sabre glanced to his team for their reactions and found that Abraham was more interested in getting out of the area and Nathan had his gaze fixed on the two women. He still could not read Wolf's expressions, though it did not really matter to him.

What did matter was that a spear flew silently through the air at where Nathan was half a second ago, and where Wolf would have been in another second. The whole team, as well as the Judicators turned to the spear-thrower, which turned out to be the girl that had calmed Leroy down.

The once downcast look she wore had turned into an expression of pure fury. Fury directed at Wolf.

Sabre took this as his cue to speed the team along to their mission, eager to get away from the area for a while, as Judicator's and Beacon staff began corralling the students as well as Nicole and her team away.


	24. Chapter 20

Take Two

Abraham could only think of the mission as the vehicle approached the construction site of the new Palladium Skyscraper. _This is my chance. _He thought. _My chance to prove to Ozpin that I can do this._

In his opinion, it was simple enough. He had run these kinds of operations before, although they had often not involved skulking around in the dark.

The issue, instead, was how he was going to coordinate with his team. He was quite confident that he could deal with the problem all by himself, but he wasn't so sure about how this would play out as a team thing, especially when he was taking orders from someone he didn't particularly like that much.

While he sorted through what he needed and didn't need, his mind went back to The Coalition. In his opinion, they were an awful bunch. It was all history to him, but he never liked the idea of how they would strip someone of their individuality and ability to express themselves through any forms of art. From the way the books told it, The Coalition had all but become a distant ideology of the past that no one looked up to anymore. _Obviously not_. However, the idea of being able to get back at them for what they did made his blood pump. _A chance to stop tyranny? Wouldn't miss it for the world._

'Linkin.' The distorted voice of Drake said, causing Abraham to break out of his thoughts.

'Uh, yeah?'

'What would…What's your opinion of the operation?'

'Huh?'

Drake seemed to pause for a moment before continuing. 'I assume you've conducted operations like this before…so what would you suggest?'

'Well…um…We'll be in a construction site, which means close quarters….' Abraham thought out loud.

'This is the plan. We travel in different groups, search the construction site until we find out where this exchange is taking place. Then, Nathan will act as a distraction whereby Abraham and Wolf will move in from one side of the targets, and I'll move in from the other.'

'Way to put me in danger.' The grey-haired boy murmured.

'You're sticking me…with it?' Abraham asked, slightly skeptically as he gesture to Wolf, who was still being held against the wall of the armored carrier by two Judicators.

Drake then slowly got up and approached the creature. 'Can I trust you to do what I say?'

The creature simply growled a few times, barring its fangs, before replying. 'None can control me. I am force given form.' In its rough, husky voice that sounded like its trachea had holes in it.

'Then can I trust you to kill for me?' Drake reassessed. This time, he was met with silence for a few moments before the creature spoke again.

'That I can do.'

The masked mercenary-former mercenary-turned back to Abraham. 'Good enough for you?'

Abraham was flexing his wrists, anticipating what was to come. 'I never said I couldn't handle myself. I just wanted to know why you're sticking me with it.'

'Because a strong power duo will cause the opposition to focus their attacks on them, while paying less attention to their flanks.' Drake explained before suddenly slumping back down to the chair against the wall of the Armored Carrier.

'Makes sense to me.' Nathan agreed, and Abraham found himself agreeing as well, though he felt more than a little uneasy about being stuck with the monster, and having his backup be a molester and a mercenary.

The sound of the engine of the carrier and the plated wheels over gravel was all that could be heard for a few moments before they arrived at the site with a sudden stop. Though Abraham couldn't see where they were for a lack of windows, he knew this was where they were supposed to be.

The hatch to the carrier opened up and Wolf was shoved out immediately, breaking him free of the hold of the Judicators, but making him fall face-first onto the asphalt. A small price to pay in Abraham's mind. He and the others soon followed, though without as much force and stumbling to the ground.

The night hadn't gone on much further than he had seen it when they got to the transport pads. Abraham took a moment to look up at the moon, as it was in its "half" phase. Soon, some clouds rolled by the moon and made Abraham focus more on the skeletal form of the skyscraper.

The sheer size of the skyscraper came into Abraham's view as he gazed upon its naked skeletal structure. They couldn't have been more than five months into construction as it seemed that a few more floors were to be added. Abraham guessed that it would get at least ten meters taller, being already more than fifty meters in height.

Fifty meters of steel coming down on them. _I've been through worse._

Just as the hatch to the carrier was closing, a Judicator gave a low whistle to Abraham, catching his attention. Turning around, the Judicator threw a few small objects towards Abraham, which he caught just as the hatch sealed shut with a soft hiss and the carrier sped away.

Abraham looked to his hand to see four identical earpieces. He handed one to each of the members of his team, except for Wolf. _Would it even know how to use one of these?_

Abraham quickly attached his own earpiece, and he was immediately met with a familiar voice.

'Your mission has officially started.'

* * *

Neither overly enthusiastic about the mission nor wanting to fail, Sabre had decided to take the stairway and search every floor, while Nathan and Abraham took to the scaffolds on either side of the building. Their work was faster, though less thorough. To top it off, he had ordered Wolf to follow him as he wasn't sure whether or not the creature was capable of creeping silently along the scaffolding.

This, however, worked to Sabre's advantage as the creature claimed it could sense the presence of the targets. He had to be careful though, for more than once, he saw himself walking up a set of stairs not within the skyscraper's shell, but in his own house.

Sabre could feel himself slipping into that dark place in his mind each passing hour, but he continued to hide his condition for as long as possible, determined to not let Ozpin and the others about any of his weaknesses.

Using the metal beams of the partially constructed skyscraper for support, he urged Wolf further with the end of his halberd. 'You say you can smell them.' He said, his voice coming out as a bit of a croak because of his last Recall. 'Are they here?'

Wolf turned his head from side to side, then to the ceiling. He darted around a corner, and Sabre sprinted to keep up, his hand going for the trigger to the explosive device in the creature's neck if it was trying to escape or retaliate.

Instead, it led him to an unfinished room in the building that made it look as if some large creature had taken a bite out of the ceiling of the floor he was on, revealing the city of Vale below. 'They are close.' It said, looking to the opening in the roof-or floor.

Sabre craned his neck to the opening above him, adjusting a dial on the side of his mask to change the range of what he could hear. There it was, just like the creature said. He picked up the faint noise of chatter. Quiet, murmured chatter, but chatter none the less. He quickly looked for a way up, and decided to kick himself off an exposed steel beam near the opening. After signaling for the creature to remain, and getting an unsatisfied grunt in reply, he did so.

He caught one of the metal rods that stuck out of the concrete floor, careful not to impale himself on one of them and quietly peeked over the edge.

He saw eight men all gathered in a circle, Dust Lamps illuminating the area. Some held touchpads in their hands while others held handheld laptops. _State-of-the-art handhelds, huh? If I'm careful…_

Sabre was able to catch some bits of their conversation.

'Vale's security is too intricate for its own good.'

'You Vacuo goons sure know where to get your info.'

'We even got our hands on the codes to several bank safes across Vale. Course the Coalition's gonna have to give us a bonus.'

'We'll see what's useful and pay you accordingly.'

After he felt that he had snooped enough, he dropped back down to the lower floor as quietly as he could and detached his mask to use his earpiece.

'Linkin, Grey, I found them. Their along the south side of the building.' He peered out the opening in the wall. 'Thirty-second floor.'

'Copy, heading your way.' Abraham replied.

'Dang, I knew I should've checked that side of the floor.' Came Nathan's voice.

Sabre noticed that the men had begun shaking hands and were untangling Connector Cables. 'How long before you can get here?' he spoke into his communicator again.

'I'm going…as fast as I can. Probably in about ten seconds.' Abraham replied, sounding slightly winded.

'I'm scaling the scaffold, and should be there in about…you'll know when I get there.'

'South-side, there's an opening between the thirty-second and thirty-first floor.' Sabre replied, walking over to the unfinished part of the building and peered out. It didn't take him long to see Nathan a few floors up, along the south-east side of the building. He stuck his hand out to get Nathan's attention, but he was too busy making sure he didn't fall sixty or so meters.

'Make sure you approach quietly, and head to the thirty-first floor, Linkin. I want to regroup before we take them on.' Sabre commanded as he stepped away from the unfinished part of the building.

'Copy that.' Abraham replied over the communicator. Sabre took this as his cue to reattach his mask. The mask that had protected and served him for so long. Yet now, he used it to further mask himself in battle.

_It's not like they don't know what I look like. It's more of a…precaution. Yeah._

_But, a precaution to what?_

It wasn't long before Sabre heard faint footsteps from outside of the large, unfinished room he was in thanks to the mask. A second later, Abraham poked his head through the opening in the wall where a door was yet to be placed.

After he saw Sabre and the Wolf creature, he entered and whispered, 'Where are they?'

'One floor above,' Sabre replied, moving closer to Abraham so that he didn't have to speak as loudly. 'You can see them through the opening over there.' Sabre continued, pointing to the unfinished section of the room.

Abraham took a deep breath for a moment before making a leap to the above floor. He didn't have the height to land on it, but he had the height to silently grab onto the metal beams and peer over.

Just then, a single footstep could be heard coming from the windowless hole in the wall facing outwards. Sabre turned and saw that Nathan had finally arrived. Just as he was about to make a remark, Sabre put his hand to his mask and pointed at the above floor, which Nathan seemed to get as he quietly joined the group.

Abraham slowly lowered himself from the next floor and landed silently. 'They seem pretty well armed.' He said, thinking out loud.

'Alright, so we all know the plan, right?' Sabre asked, receiving two nods and causing Wolf to unsheath his claws. _Close enough. _'Alright.'

* * *

The faithless leader, the one they called Drake, made hand gestures as each of the members of the team began clambering up to the above floor. He made a gesture to Wolf, and deciding to play along, he followed the others. He followed closely to the one they called Abraham, as Drake had instructed him to stay with him.

_A rule given, not earned._

After he clambered over to the next floor, Wolf moved through the shadows of the hollow tower, wondering all the while at why the Humans put so much effort to construct such great feats if not for war.

_Their vanity is our strength. Prideful creatures that will choke on their own marvels._

He saw the other Humans and Faunus gathered by their lights, like moths. For a moment, he was tempted to strike, but held back lest his efforts be for nothing. They were gathered in an area that was surrounded by stone pillars, and it appeared that his "teammates" wanted to use the pillars to their advantage. He saw Abraham press himself against a stone pillar and mimicked him. He watched as the trickster they called Nathan scurried out of view, circling their prey.

Drake was the last one up, but as he dashed for a lean pillar, his cape made a fluttering sound which their prey heard. They stopped communing altogether, and were still for a moment before drawing their weapons.

They had staffs that sparked and spat lightning and guns that did the same, while two men opened rectangular casings and pulled large, stationary guns out of them.

They all moved closer and closer to where Drake was hiding, every second, Wolf waited for the order to strike. He saw Abraham forming words with his mouth-likely directed to Drake-out of the corner of his peripheral vision.

A tense atmosphere descended upon the scene as their prey suspected a predator, and their predator suspected a fight.

However, just as they were mere feet from where Drake was, a voice broke the atmosphere. 'Oh, boys!'

The Humans and Faunus turned to see the grey-haired trickster standing before a doorway that led into the unfinished room. 'Isn't it a little past your bedtime?'

As he finished the sentence, his hands went for his guns. But their prey was faster, and they quickly punctured the man's flesh with a series of bullets. He fell to the floor in a bloody mess.

Wolf did not bat an eye at the sight, as he knew that the corpse was nothing more than a trick. That was when he was directed to the sound of metal hitting flesh as Drake sprung out of his cover and hit one of their targets over the head with the screen of a laptop. The laptop monitor shattered, but it did its job and the man in front of him fell to the floor.

'Now!' in the blink of an eye, Wolf had already rounded the pillar and threw his stinger at an unsuspecting opponent, dragging the Faunus towards him, sinking his teeth into his neck, and looked over as Abraham embedded his axe into another man's hip, causing him to fall to the floor.

It was then that the spies began paying more attention to the ambush they had set. Both men on their turrets swiveled around to face Wolf, Drake and Abraham. As they fired upon them, Drake formed his shield of light while Abraham dodged from cover to cover with the grace of a bird of prey, glowing all the while with a black hue. Wolf instead charged forward, taking the shots as they came, and struck outwards with claws, now with dark shards attached to the ends.

The dark shards slashed the machine gun in half, and the man operating it gasped for breath, hands pawing desperately at the shard embedded in his throat, before falling over, dead. The other man began focusing his fire on Wolf, pinning him in place because of the sheer backward force of the bullets, as well as the pain.

Wolf began to feel as if he had fallen into a bed of rose-less thorns after a few seconds, were it not for Nathan's quick intervention at bashing the man over the head with the end of his gun, before spinning him around and firing two shots into his neck.

Because of that, Wolf had a chance to use the pain to fuel his rage. With that rage, he charged for the downed man and began clawing at him, ignoring his cries for mercy and a quick death until he looked more like uncooked meat than he did a person, blood and body parts sprawled across the ground like some macabre play set.

After Wolf was satisfied, he turned to engage the rest of the enemies. He charged at a stag-Faunus wielding a large, curved blade that glowed with a sinister blue light. He struck first, however the Faunus parried both of his strikes with his sword before pushing him back with his palm.

The force of the push must have been greater than he imagined, because Wolf was sent hurdling towards the ground, and found himself immobilized when he tried to get back up. That was when he realized that the Faunus' hand was glowing, and that it glowed the same color as the net of energy that held him in place, petrified like a statue.

'What the hell is that thing?' the Faunus asked to no one in particular.

'Whatever it is, it dies.' Said another man approaching Wolf, who wore a tuxedo suit but with blade-proof armor on top of it. His back was turned and he was locked in combat with Abraham.

He watched helplessly as Abraham fought the man who wielded a studded metal rod. At one point, axe and rod were locked in a tense struggle for dominance before the man bashed his head into Abraham, causing him to stumble backwards. The man took the opportunity to perform a sweep kick and knock Abraham to the ground. His axe laid a few feet from him. Abraham tried to roll to his weapon, but the man was already there to kick him back.

As he raised his rod, ready to bash in Abraham's head, Abraham began to glow with a matt-black color. The spy swung downwards with all his might, but Abraham was already back on his feet by the time to rod met the concrete floor. Abraham delivered a series of punches to the man's chest before he could even realize what had happened. He staggered back in pain, trying to use the rod to block Abraham's strikes, but Abraham merely smacked it aside with one solid sweep of the arm before delivering a single jab to the man's throat the caused him to collapse to the floor, gasping for air.

Wolf was beginning to be able to move more, if ever so slightly, while he watched Drake fight the Faunus that had frozen him in place. Drake kept the spy at a distance with his halberd, constantly striking and stabbing with plenty of distance between the two of them. Eventually, he was caught in a lock with the man and, using one hand, reached for one of his large shotguns and fired off two shots into the man's chest.

The first shot did nothing except drain the Faunus' Aura. The second, however, left a severe flesh wound, which Drake added to by breaking the lock between their weapons and opening a gash below the man's throat with the blade of his gun.

'Two to go.' Drake said before an order went out.

'Nobody move!' said one of the spies, as he walked into view of the light. He had Nathan at gunpoint with a strange gun that came out of a bracer he wore. Everyone had their weapons to the man and his captive. 'Or I blow his brains out.'

'Go ahead you filthy p-' Nathan was bashed over the head by the bracer before he could respond.

'Josie, run!' he called out as a woman ran out of cover and made sprint for the entrance-way. Abraham seemed ready to pursue, but at that moment, Wolf had regained feeling in his body, and it demanded that he chase the fleeing prey.

Before Abraham could take another step, Wolf had already sprinted after the target, intent on ending this hunt with success.

* * *

_It's fine. It's fine. I know how to get myself out of this one._ Nathan tried to reassure himself as the barrel of the gun was further nudged into his face. 'Why don't we just put the gun away and talk this through like civi-'

'Shut up!'

'What's your plan? Huh? You're gonna walk down the thirty flights of stairs with him as your human shield?' Drake asked, threateningly, his halberd still raised and ready to fire.

Abraham seemed to tense up for a moment before relaxing. 'Wait, why are we defending this guy? He's expendable!' he said to Drake, causing him to raise his weapon fire.

'Huh, guess you're right. I mean, I can just take off a couple of shots and-'

'Gee, thanks for the support, guys.' He murmured, focusing on making another illusion and praying that it would work. Eventually, he opened his eyes and saw the handsome illusion jump out from behind a pillar. 'Now!' it said, drawing both guns.

'What the-?' the man threw him to the ground and began running before he was shot in the foot by Drake and collapsed to the ground.

As Nathan dusted himself off, he saw that Abraham had walked over to the man. He picked him up by the strap of his Kevlar over his urban-camouflage-colored uniform. 'Go ahead.' The man grunted. 'Arrest me. You can't stop the Coalition.'

'Sorry, our orders said no survivors.' He said as he threw the man to the ground and brought his axe down on the man's head.

Nathan winced slightly at the brutality of the killing blow before he started to realize something. 'Where's Wolf?'

Abraham turned around, wide-eyed as he scanned the room for signs of the creature. 'Dammit! He got away. Drake bring out the detonator, we'll follow the explosion and…'

He stopped as he saw the creature return, blood-soaked and carrying the head of the last of their targets.

There was a moment of silence as Wolf tossed the head into a small pile of corpses, before Nathan spoke up once more. 'I think…that's all of them. We did it!' he said, pumping his fist in the air in celebration.

'Yeah, I guess we did.' Abraham said, slightly winded for some reason. 'All we have to do now is retrieve the data, blow the charges and we're home-'

All of a sudden, Drake collapsed to the ground on one knee and was clenching his head in pain.

'What's happening?' Nathan asked, instinctively worried.

'Recall…syndrome…getting…worse.' Drake managed to croak.

'Recall syndrome?' Abraham asked, looking to Nathan.

'It's some kind of post-traumatic thing. I heard that people that have it suffer vivid flashbacks at random times.' Nathan explained, walking over to offer Drake a hand up.

Drake removed his mask, gasping for air for some reason, before his breathing returned to a quieter, light breathing. 'I'll be fine. I just need to get used to it.' He said as he lightly slapped Nathan's hand away-insulting Nathan's integrity-and propping himself back to his feet using his halberd.

_How dare he refuse my help!_ Nathan needed to take a deep breath to compose himself, reminding himself that he was better than this.

'Nathan, start extracting the data out of the touchpads and laptops onto a single device. Abraham, contact Ozpin and tell him that we've completed the mission. Wolf,' he hesitated for a few moments. '-don't do anything for the moment.'

Wolf did not respond, but it seemed to relax slightly.

As Nathan began transferring data from one laptop onto another thanks to a Connector Cable, he watched as Abraham approached Drake.

'You said it was nothing.' Abraham spat.

'And it is. The syndrome will fade eventually and I will still be able to perform well in battle.'

'How will you perform well in battle if you're hunched over, recalling a memory six years ago?'

'Actually,' Nathan interjected. 'The Recall Syndrome is least likely to act up in battle, just because of the adrenaline rush he'll be having.'

Abraham paused for a moment before speaking again. 'You said it will fade eventually, when exactly is eventually?'

Drake did not respond, but only slipped on his mask and walked away.

Nathan eventually lost interest and returned to his task, but as he connected three touchpads to the laptop that he was using to hoard the information, he realized that he missed one laptop. However, its casing had been damaged.

'Hey, Drake.' He held up the broken laptop. 'How am I supposed to get the data out of this?'

Drake snatched the laptop out of Nathan's hand and pulled out a knife. He crouched down to get a better angle and lodged the knife into a crack in the casing before prying it open. He pulled apart the wiring to reveal the hard disk, which he handed to Nathan.

'Has anyone ever told you that you look like a coyote wearing that mask?' Nathan asked as he caught the hard disk and connected it to the laptop.

'A what?' Drake asked.

'It's like some kind of wild dog.' Abraham explained as he tried to contact Ozpin. 'I heard there's lots of them in Vacuo. Hello, professor. Yes, we've eliminated the targets and are now collecting the data…Ok, yes.' He said, removing the explosive charge he carried on his back. 'Ok, so…green button right.' He said as he pressed a button on the explosive charge and it began beeping.

'What did you do?' Nathan asked with more than a hint of worry in his voice.

'Gentlemen, this is Professor Ozpin speaking.' Nathan heard through the earpiece he wore. 'The charge has been activated, and you now need to plant it in the support beam at the base of the building. Any less and it will seem like an explosion. The charge will detonate in less than one and a half minutes, good luck.'

Nathan had no idea what to do for a second, but Drake's voice broke through. 'Nathan, is the download done?'

He shook his head to bring himself back to the current situation, whereby he looked at the monitor to check the transfer progress. 'The last of the data is being transferred now, it'll take-'

'No time, unplug and secure the laptop. Abraham, I need you to go on ahead, and plant the-' before he could finish, Abraham had already sprinted out of the room…towards the scaffold.

After Nathan closed the laptop and clamped it to a Securing Clamp his back, he peered over the edge of the scaffold to see Abraham shimmying down the scaffolds at the speed of about one floor per second.

'Do we follow him?' Nathan asked, skeptical about jumping off a thirty-story building.

'Unless you think you can get down thirty-two flights of stairs in one minute.' He said, securing his weapons before he took off down the scaffold.

Nathan looked to Wolf, who had taken a few steps back in order to take a running start and jump out of the opening. Convinced that everyone on the team was on board with this crazy idea, Nathan began quickly scrambling down the scaffold as well. He was down about twelve flights when he saw a chute that would lead him straight to the ground floor. He quickly made his way back into the building and climbed into the chute. It took roughly seven seconds for him to reach the ground, three of which were exciting whereas the other four were just a boring wait.

Just as Nathan landed in a metal bin filled with rubble and other shards of broken glass, metal and concrete, he heard a loud "thump" and saw Drake had fallen several floors and crashed into the ground, albeit unscathed. He also saw that Wolf was readily waiting for them.

'Where's Abraham?' he asked, though he got his answer as he saw Abraham dash out of an opening that had yet to be fit with two large double-doors, and probably never would. He ran to Abraham, wanting to ask how much time was left on the bomb, but as he approached Abraham, he turned around and saw that the other two members of his team had fled, and then he was struck by common sense. _Oh, right. Because the bomb has about ten seconds on-_

Before he could finish the thought, he felt the ground beneath him rumble, and a sound like thunder pierced the air. Nathan glanced back for a brief second to see the building behind him shaking. Ahead of him, Abraham stopped at the edge of the construction site and was looking back to the building. Nathan stopped next to him, panting slightly as he watched the building to seemingly shake itself apart.

First, the ground floor seemed to sink into the ground. Then the next twenty floors began folding on themselves. A loud, metallic groaning could be heard as the floors above it shook apart and the whole building was lost in a thick cloud of dust-kicked up after the first floor sank to where the basement was likely supposed to be.

Nathan held his breath as the dust cloud sped towards Abraham and him. However, he closed his eyes a second too late as the dust got in and he doubled over to shield his eyes further. After the dust settled roughly five seconds later, he coughed out a bit of the dirt that had gotten in his nose and turned to see Abraham wipe some of the dirt off his top hat.

Nathan rubbed his eyes vigorously-trying to get the dirt out of them-as he looked upon what had been the skeletal structure of a skyscraper, but was now a pile of rubble and metal beams.

'Hey, Venari. You still alive?' he heard Abraham ask into his communicator.

'Yeah, Wolf and I cleared the blast zone just as the dust-bowl hit us.' He heard Drake respond over the communications link.

'Well done, Team DAWN.' Said Professor Ozpin over the link. 'You completed your mission spectacularly. I've already dispatched a squad to bring you back to Beacon for debriefing. Stay in the construction site until then.'

Over the noise of sirens and car engines that night, Nathan wasn't sure whether to feel accomplished or grateful that he had survived. So, he settled for an in-between. 'Well,' he said into his communicator. 'I guess we can chalk this up as a victory.' He stood up straight and faced Abraham, and found that his face bore an expression that he found to be something of agreement.


	25. Chapter 21

**A/N: Have any of you noticed a different approach to writing in the last few half a dozen chapters? Well, the main reason is that the Editorial and I have swapped roles. Originally, the Editorial was the one who wrote the story, and I its humble editor. However, due to…reasons, the Editorial simply does not have the time to write the chapters of the story at an adequate pace. *coughs* lazy *coughs*. Anyway, I felt that the first chapter was a bit lacking, so I went ahead and re-wrote it. For those of you who are long-time followers or simply enjoy the story, I'd like to ask you to backtrack and tell me whether you like/hate the new style of Prologue 1. I know, I've changed the way the story was told, but don't spoil it for any of the Rooks. There's a reason I did that.**

**Anyway, I just want to ask whether you like this new style of writing or whether you prefer the Editorial's style. Please PM and review, even if you haven't got anything positive to say, just try to be constructive about the way you say it. If this is the latest chapter updated, then the re-write had just been issued. With that out of the way, enjoy the story! **

The Lurking Darkness

Humans and Faunus alike teetered on the brink of destruction in Remnant with all the chaos that enveloped them, like the flickering lights of the candles in the dark room that its lone occupant, Father Vicitor, had converted into a shrine. He remained still, kneeling for a few more moments in front of a fragment of a Human skull filled to the brim with blood, reciting the dark chant in his mind that he had so eagerly memorized. A few moments passed in the large room, its roof too high for the faint light of the candles to reach, before Father Vicitor stretched out both of his hands, one empty while the other held a vial of a foul, black liquid.

He reached out towards the fragment of a skull, which had been carefully placed in the center of a stone altar of a disturbingly asymmetric design, with intricate carvings all over. Above it was something of an effigy of bones, Human and Faunus alike. He unhooked the metal and cork seal of the vial with his thumb, and carefully poured out its contents into the blood.

The black liquid seemed to boil away in a split-second of coming in contact with the red fluid, but not without leaving thin black lines that looked like cracks across a red surface.

Slowly putting the vial back into a pocket in his glossy, black leather jacket with long coattails that trailed across the floor in his seated position, he grabbed the fragment of the skull with both of his hands and brought it to his face.

His eyes roll backwards in ecstasy as the thick, red blood flowed into his mouth and down his throat. He felt his vision fading with darkness as the warmth of the blood flooded his body with a painful bliss. Like lightning coursing through his body, it awakened every cell in his body, yet it caused his hands to stiffen and drop the skull, hitting the ground with a clatter.

His eyes began seeing the stars in the back of his head. Unable to breathe, he felt his mind slipping out of the conscious and into the surreal as the visions returned to him.

_He saw the great one, the one who had and who would be. He saw Him flash his black, bony wings in the darkening sky as black and crimson fire dripped from His mouth. Then, in a blur, he saw Him slumber, watched as the earth swallowed Him, and leaving a great mountain in its wake. Then, darkness. But out of the darkness, he heard a sound. A low, repetitive sound, almost like…_

The visions were interrupted by the sound of the doors to the room opening, letting in the moonlight and causing him to refocus on the current situation. He fell forward in his kneeling position, panting for breath as sweat dripped down his face.

'F-father Vicitor?' he heard the disciple speak. Though his voice was deep and rough, Vicitor could still hear the fear in it.

Regaining his composure, while trying not to lunge at the fool for interrupting him like that, he finally spoke, 'Come closer, my son.' While still in his kneeling position. Even though his voice was low, the room echoed the message clear.

The boy closed the door and took two steps closer. 'Closer.' Father Vicitor commanded through grit teeth. He could see the wisps of darkness that had begun to form in his peripheral vision, like tendrils of ice, they caused the candles to flicker as he heard the disciple take a single step closer.

Knowing that the boy would not take another step, Father Vicitor flung himself at the boy, hands reaching for his throat and his dark eyes with red irises that showed no mercy. He kept pushing until the boy was against the wall of the room.

'How many times have I told you not to interrupt me while I meditate?' he shouted, causing the boy to shrink in his tightening grasp. The boy gasped for air, seeming to try to form a response as Father Vicitor's fingernails grew longer and blacker, digging into his skin. 'Each day, I feel that we are getting closer to finding the location of the Black Herald! Each day, the visions are clearer, but I cannot see if I am constantly interrupted by the likes of you!' he felt his hands take on their Grimm form, growing into small claws that grew larger as they squeezed the disciple's windpipe harder. Blood had begun to ooze out of the wounds on the boy's neck caused by the constant pressure of the claws.

'Well? How will you answer for this?' he shouted once more through gritted teeth. Receiving no more than garble sounds and choked gasps, Vicitor dropped the disciple to the floor. He gasped for air for a few moments before kneeling in front of Father Vicitor.

'P-please, Father. Forgive me, for I did not intend to disturb you. I am your humble servant and only wished to-'

'Enough!' Vicitor interrupted, effectively stopping the disciple's ramblings. 'What did you come here the tell me?' he asked as his claws slowly began turning back into normal, Human hands as darkness flaked off them.

The disciple shook for a few more seconds before he audibly swallowed, his saliva sounding more like mud or dirt. 'T-the mercenary, Raider, has returned from his quest.'

Vicitor exhaled loudly as he attempted to dissipate his distress at that moment. He took a deep breath before speaking again. 'Rise, my child.' He commanded, to which the disciple eagerly, but slowly rose on to his feet. Father Vicitor gestured towards the door with his hand. 'Come, let us go properly greet our guest.' He said, his voice taking on a kinder tone.

The disciple rushed to open the doors to the room, holding one of them open for Father Vicitor, which he repaid with a bow as he exited the room and walked over to the edge of the floor he was on, leaning on an overlook that provided a view of the courtyard below.

Below, Father Vicitor's disciples worked hard as they rushed back and forth, some carrying crates and boxes while others seemed to run about with no purpose. Vicitor was especially proud of how many followers he had been able to rally to his cause in the past few months. They would be needed for the escalating situation ahead.

He made a right and quickly descended a spiral staircase, locating the bounty hunter, Raider, as he did. His brown garb and body armor made him difficult to distinguish at night, but the light the moon cast on him reflected off his signature weapon, a double-ended scythe-like weapon, whose blades folded inward. Next to him stood two of the members of his team, both difficult to distinguish from the other because of the similarity in their outfit. Both wore scarfs and cloths to cover their face, but not enough to cover their eyes, as well as camouflage-colored short-sleeve shirts and jeans, though the material used to make their attire was stronger than it appeared.

Beside them stood one of Vicitor's more accomplished disciples, who he had personally bestowed the title of "Arch-Sister", one of the highest ranks among their coven. She wore black robes that reached all the way down to her ankles, to which she covered with obsidian sandals that glittered in the dark. She also wore elbow-length gloves and kept her long, black hair in a braid.

'Raider,' Father Vicitor greeted with open arms and a wide smile. 'How fared your hunt?'

Raider turned his head to the priest and a smirk developed on his face as he pushed himself off the stone column he was leaning against. 'Oh, we got what you wanted. And me and my boys will happily give it to you, provided you have the Lien.'

'Oh, of course.' He turned to the disciple who was still rubbing his sore neck. 'Fetch the money.'

The disciple bowed before walking away at a brisk pace. After watching the boy for a few seconds, Vicitor turned his attention back to Raider. 'I hope Emily has kept you company, again, I apologize for not attending to you immediately upon your arrival.' He said with a genuine smile, he had no doubts about the bounty hunters ability, or moral obligations.

'Eh, she's a bit dull.' He replied, sending a sneer the girl's way, which caused her black eyes to darken further.

'Excuse me, you will show respect to me.' Emily spoke up, approaching Father Vicitor's side. 'You shall not forget that I was the one who found you and gave you this opportunity.' She spoke in a bitter tone. Emily had not liked having to work so closely to the bounty hunter, preferring to be surrounded by people who treated her as a saint.

'Sister, please. I could've found plenty of other work opportunities even if you hadn't approached me.' He dismissed with the wave of his hand. 'In fact, once I'm done here, me and the boys have to attend to another client all the way in Mistral.'

'You shall address me as Arch-Sister Emily,' she demanded, sizing up to the man. 'You are but an insect to me.' She said through gritted teeth.

'Hey, you might wanna back off before you get hurt, missy.' Raider replied, his anger clear in his voice as his hand moved to his weapon.

Before Emily could spit anymore daggers at Raider-literally and metaphorically-Father Vicitor interrupting, deciding to be the one to broker the truce between the two. 'Please Emily, Raider is our guest. And as such, we are to treat him with respect.' He stared at her with inquiring eyes. 'Do you really want to start an incident while we have barely begun?'

Emily wore a look of shock for a few seconds, her eyes darting back and forth between Vicitor and Raider. Glaring one final time at Raider, she let out a sigh before nodding to Vicitor. 'Of course, Father. I apologize for my behavior.'

_Sweet Emily, always so eager to please yet so quick to temper. She truly is a prodigy to the cause. _He thought, having expected that from the girl, loyal to a fault as she was. 'You are pardoned, my dear.' He turned his attention back to Raider. 'Now, may we see the artifact that you retrieved?'

Raider maintained a stern grimace as he held out his right hand to the man to his right. The man unclasped a small sack from his belt and put it in Raider's hand. Raider bounced it in front of Father Vicitor as he tried to control his zealous excitement.

'You've seen its case, now show us the money.' He half-demanded, waving the bag in front of Vicitor as he turned around to see one of his disciples returning with a briefcase.

The disciple quickly handed Father Vicitor the case, turning the dials on the lock to the correct combination. Vicitor opened it in front of Raider, looking on in amusement as Raider's eyes widened and dilated at the sight of the stacks of Lien. He closed the briefcase and passed it to one of Raider's men as Raider quickly handed the bag to Emily.

'Here you go, Father.' Emily said as she passed the bag to Vicitor. He closed his eyes as he felt its contents through the fabric of the small sack.

'Ah, you have once again delivered on your part, my friend.' He said as he pulled out the contents of the bag. In his hands, he held a golden bracelet encrusted in red and blue gems the size of the head of a pin. The most prominent feature of the bracelet was the large, green gem in the center of the bracelet. The gem seemed to be animate with a thick amber liquid that spiraled in the center of the gem. 'Behold, Emily, the family heirloom to the Val royal family. They say that the gem in the center of the bracelet has the power to give whoever wears it rule over those in debt to the Val family.' He spoke with great confidence as he held the bracelet to the light of the moon.

'Yeah, well I don't know about the magic mumbo-jumbo, but it's not just called the family heirloom for nothing.' Raider said, not looking as he spoke; too busy counting the Lien in the briefcase. 'We had to break through two laser security grids, overpaid guards and a safe made out of-'

He abruptly stopped his rant and recoiled in horror as Father Vicitor hurled the bracelet at the stone ground and began stomping it into a dented and disfigured form.

Raider looked to Emily, finding that the girl simply looked on nonchalantly as Father Vicitor picked up the dented gold bracelet. Raider looked to the shocked expressions of his companions-one even pulling down his cloth mask to further emphasize his shock while the other removed the goggles he wore-before shouting at Vicitor. 'What the hell, man? That bracelet could've sold for triple what you paid me! Now, it's nearly not worth its weight!'

'I was not interested in fancy trinkets.' Vicitor said, as he pried the green gem-still intact-from the gold bracelet. 'This, however, was worth a dozen of those gold bands.' He said with a glint in his eye as he held it to the moonlight.

Raider scoffed as he shook his head back and forth. 'Right, yeah. What else should I have expected from religious nut-jobs?'

Vicitor saw Emily's patience and tolerance finally snap with that comment, drawing her curved dagger from out of her robes before placing it against Raider's neck. 'How dare you speak to Father Vicitor as such?' she shouted in his face. 'I should cut out your tongue as penance.' She said, gritting her teeth together.

'Hey, step off! I can't help it if your mentor's a senseless lunatic!' he said, pushing the black-haired girl backwards a few steps, causing her to lunge forward in a vicious cry. In a flash, Raider drew out his dual-scythe and used the folded blade to block the dagger.

While the two locked weapons, Raider's accomplices were busy aiming their weapons at the growing crowd of armed cultists, ready to assist their Arch-Sister before Father Vicitor's voice rang out across the courtyard.

'Enough!' he spoke just below a shout, but it was enough to cause Emily to pull back and sheath her dagger, looking to Vicitor for guidance. He glared disappointment at her for a second before taking a step forward towards Raider, who was still armed and had just taken up a defensive stance. He remained calm, barely resisting the blood-lust that boiled within him as he handed the golden lump in his hand to Raider.

He paused, uncertain about both the gesture and Vicitor's kind smile, but overcame it as he took the remains of the bracelet from the man.

'You may keep the bracelet, or more accurately, what remains of it, and leave now if you desire.' He said, folding his arms together and bowing to the man. 'And you will never have to make a deal with us again. Call it compensation for my dear Emily's temper.' He chanced a glance at Emily, to see her look down at the ground in disappointment.

There was a pause as Raider seemed to consider the option before uttering one word that would seal his fate with Father Vicitor and The Old Eclipse.

'Or?'

Vicitor couldn't hide the grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth as he spoke again. 'Or, you could…renew your contract with us. Help us in gathering holy artifacts like this,' he held up the green gem and heard several gasps from the cultists that surrounded them, which reminded Vicitor to gesture towards them to lower their weapons. '-and together, we will usher in a new world order. And we will have you to thank for it.'

Raider looked from side to side and scoffed. 'Doesn't look like much.'

'Not yet it doesn't.' Father Vicitor countered. 'So, what will it be?'

Raider looked to both of his companions before gesturing for them to lower their weapons as he reattached his to his back. 'What's in it for us?'

Vicitor chuckled and shook his head before speaking again. 'I could offer you the riches of the new world we shall create, but I assume you wouldn't believe me.' His gaze refocused on Raider. 'I'll double your pay. Triple it if you continue to impress me.'

'How the hell do you get the money to double our pay?' Raider asked, a little skeptical.

'Do you accept the offer…or not?' Vicitor asked, making sure to show that this would be his final offer by outstretching his hand for a handshake.

Raider stared at the hand for a few seconds before reluctantly returning the gesture. 'Alright, we're in.' his two accomplices nodded their agreement.

'Very good my friend.' Vicitor said as he pat Raider on his shoulder guard with a wide smile, though Raider did not return it. He turned his attention to the crowd that had gathered around them. 'Well? What are you waiting for? Get back to work!' with that, the cultists scattered back to what they had been doing and Vicitor once again turned to Raider with a serious expression. 'We are finalizing the plans to steal the next artifact. Until then, make yourself at home. I can already tell that this is the beginning of a long partnership.' He said with one last smile before he turned and began walking away.

'You are welcomed to join us tomorrow at dawn for the discussion. You'd probably liked to be kept informed anyway, bounty hunter.' He called out as he walked back to the spiral staircase to his chambers, eager to resume his prayers and to be further enlightened.

_Soon. Soon, all will be ours. Soon, the greatest power in the world will be mine to manipulate._

_Soon…we must have it soon._


	26. Chapter 22

**A/N: Give up the chapters! Sorry, I hope for the readers out there that this one chapter a week (usually) thing is working out. Well, it's not for me. There's just so much to this story still untold, so I'm going to try for two chapters a week. No promises as its Exam season, but hopefully…**

**Also, I didn't say it earlier, but Take Two was the longest chapter I've written yet. And I stress yet. There is still so much that needs to be told.**

**Also, as of chapter 20, we have gone past the 1,000 view milestone. Just want to say thank you to all who have read this far, and here's to another 1,000 views.**

**Disclaimer: We do not own RWBY or Rooster Teeth, trust me. The ships would be real if we did.**

Loosen The Shackles

Abraham stood in the derelict streets of Vale as buildings crumbled around him and the cracks along the streets stretched outward from where he stood. A blood-red moon cast everything around him in an eerie red colour. His senses were all heightened, like he had been fighting for the past hour, yet he felt no fatigue.

He heard scuttling, and a dragging sound like someone was walking with their sword at their side, too heavy to properly carry or too tired to make the effort. Abraham turned to face his opponent, facing what looked like a typical Vale soldier, wearing their forest-green and brown suit of armour, much like the ones the Atlesians wore. The only difference was that his helmet had been removed and his eyes were black and hollow. It was as if Abraham was peering straight into the man's soul, and found nothing there.

The soldier approached at a slow hobble, seeming to not be in control of his own body.

'Halt!' Abraham commanded to no avail. 'Stop or I will attack!'

The soldier gave a bestial cry as he swung his shock baton at Abraham, which he swiftly dodged before returning with a horizontal slash. Abraham was shocked when he found that the slice cleaved the man clean in half.

As he watched the man fall to the floor, he saw that he did not bleed, and that there were a hundred more just like him closing in on him. Abraham tried to use his Night Ravens, but they clicked dry as he flicked his wrists at the soldiers.

Suddenly, all the soldiers charged and leapt for a downward strike on Abraham. Abraham wasn't even trying when he swung his Nightwither in a wide circle, blowing back all the soldiers and throwing them several metres back.

_What the hell is going on here? _He thought, observing as none of the soldiers got back up to attack. Turning in a circle, he eventually spotted a lone silhouette standing further down a dark street. Abraham readied himself for another confrontation, but the man did not approach.

Instead, a voice echoed out through the air. 'A flood is coming, Abraham.'

Abraham could suddenly here the sound of running water. He turned around to find that all the surrounding streets were gushing with waves of blood. The largest wave came from the street the man was standing in.

'Are you prepared for it?' was the last thing the silhouette said before both he and Abraham were swept away by the waves of blood. Abraham could feel the surface grow further and further away from him as he sank deeper and deeper into the darkness.

* * *

Abraham woke with a start, hitting his head against the roof of the cut-out of the wall in the prison. He quickly lay back down against the firm pillow, rubbing the sore area on his head. His face felt warm and drenched with sweat. His breathing was ragged and sharp, still wracking from the dream he had.

_But it felt so real. _Sitting upright, he slowly orientated himself with the prison cell, focussing on the dim lights that shone from a ring in the centre of the ceiling. Closing his eyes and taking a few more deep breaths, Abraham felt his mind clear as his eyes adjusted to the room. He picked up and dusted off his top hat, which he had left lying on the floor at the base of the hole.

His attention was drawn by the sounds of panting and ragged breaths as he tried to find something to focus on until Ozpin's next visit. He saw Drake with his back against a wall and his hand on his head, reeling back from another Recall. Abraham frowned, unable to not feel bad for the mercenary as he seemed to be wracked by three headaches, one after the other.

_I seriously doubt he'll be in adequate mental condition for our next battle. Maybe if I spoke to Ozpin… _His thought was cut off at the sound of the doors to the prison cell opened. Everyone immediately focussed whatever attention they had on Ozpin as he stepped into the cell, even Nathan, who had just rolled out of his hole and fell to the floor.

For Wolf, sleep was like closing off his mind from the rest of his body. However, he was still aware of what was happening around him. Such is the nature of the Grimm, to always be on alert-for the next fang could come from the front or the back. He would most often sleep only to let his body heal, and to possibly witness a vision.

When the door to the cage he and the others were in opened, he pulled his mind back to reality. The man with the cane, Ozpin, stepped into the room with his associates by his side.

'Good morning, everyone.' He greeted. 'How are we all doing today?' All he got in response was a faint groan from Nathan, to which he chuckled. 'I'll take it you're all still tired from last night?'

Abraham looked around the room before replying. 'Well, at least some of us are.' He said with a sigh.

'Well, I just came down here to once again say what a fantastic job you did. The VNN is already passing the incident as a structural failure.' He said as he took a sip from his cup. 'I am to also to give you your assignment for today.'

Abraham stood at attention as he spoke. 'What is it this time?'

'Your release.'

With that, the mood of the cell seemed to lighten, Nathan stood up, suddenly full of life and Abraham's eyes widened.

'We're being released?' Nathan shouted. 'About time I was released from this hellhole. I'm out!' Nathan said, strutting towards the door before being stopped by Glynda.

'What Professor Ozpin means is that the three of you are being allowed a couple hours out of the cell to familiarise yourself with Beacon. You are by no means allowed to travel beyond the campus grounds and will be shot if you try to escape.

Nathan groaned and hit his head against the stone wall of the prison as Abraham spoke up. 'What do you mean, "The three of us"?'

'For safety reasons and precautions,' Ozpin began explaining. '-Wolf is to remain in the Detention Cell Five until you are scheduled to conduct another mission.'

'Sounds good to me.' Abraham agreed, clapping his hands together.

'I hope that you don't see this as a favourite or prejudice thing, Wolf.' Ozpin said, directing the question to Wolf. 'It's just that having you in here makes a lot of people feel safer.'

Wolf did not respond to the question, merely grunting as a response. This freedom was illusionary at best. Like birds being released from their small cages into a larger cage. As for safety…well, none of them were safe while he still breathed.

'How long do we have before we are to return?' Drake asked. From where Wolf stood, he seemed to be thumbing something hidden in his robes.

'Like I said, two hours. However, you will not be allowed to simply roam around Beacon freely. Your activity will constantly be monitored by surveillance feed and there will be a Hunter assigned to each of you. They will follow your movement,' she turned to face Nathan. 'And act as they feel fit.'

'Sounds like they'll be more than happy to fire off an Electric Dust round into one of you two.' Abraham said, folding his arms.

'You will be allowed to interact with the other students and Hunters. They have already been informed that you may cross their paths.' Ozpin said, but his tone darkened suddenly. 'However, if you should attempt to harm or put my students into harm's way, there will be dire consequences.'

Nathan opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by Glynda. 'No, Mr Grey. You may not fornicate with any of the students or staff while you are allowed this reprieve.'

'Why this change of heart?' Drake asked, the question directed to Ozpin.

Ozpin chuckled lightly before responding. 'Come now, Mr Venari. Have you never heard of the expression, "Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth"?' Drake remained silent as Ozpin continued. 'All the same, this reprieve from your confinement is actually something of a reward for your success in your last mission.'

Nathan looked at Abraham and Drake with a quizzical look. 'But we're prisoners. We tried to escape. We failed our previous mission!' Nathan exclaimed. 'You could do with us as you like, yet you're rewarding us?'

'Kindness has to start somewhere.' Ozpin replied, the words sounding very alien to Wolf, who saw kindness as a weakness and an illusion. 'Now, how about you few get some breakfast. We'll make sure to bring something down for Wolf.'

Wolf thought lightly of the situation, giving no response to Ozpin's statement. It neither worked to his advantage nor hindered him. It would give him more time to himself to think upon all the pain he would inflict on the Carvus Alpha that robbed him of his Pack.

_Very soon. I will need a few more Fangs, but soon…_

* * *

Nathan hadn't felt this free in days. The ability to walk with a lesser version of his usual swagger without the barrel of a gun to his back was very liberating. The walk to the elevator alone filled his mind with more positive thoughts.

_All those Huntresses and their questionably skimpy outfits…_

Along with those thoughts, he couldn't shake the odd feeling that Professor Ozpin has some grand scheme behind all of this. _And not just this…reprieve. Keeping us alive and in Beacon at all. What is the good professor playing at?_

His thoughts were interrupted by the chime of the elevator arriving at the floor they were at. He noticed two Protectors stationed at the entrance to the elevator, their weapons at the ready. _All in all, I wouldn't even try something without knowing where the Silver Bloods are._

Nathan and his teammates stepped into the elevator followed by Ozpin and Glynda, and a Judicator that had been waiting in the elevator pressed the designated button.

'Your two hours starts when we reach the Beacon grounds.' Glynda explained, tapping something into her touchpad. 'You should also be informed that the Hunter assigned to you may summon you if we have found a suitable assignment for you.'

'And we just keep doing this until we all die.' Nathan thought out loud, realising it too late when he received stares from everyone in the elevator. 'Oh, did I say that out loud?'

'While this is relevant, is that really the plan, Ozpin?' Abraham asked.

Ozpin simply smiled and replied. 'All in due time.'

The silence was once again broken by a thump that resounded from within the elevator, which Nathan quickly deduced was the sound of Drake leaning against the wall.

'Mr Venari, are you feeling all right?' Ozpin asked, only glancing at Drake once before turning back to the entrance of the elevator when a chime indicated that they had reached ground level.

'I'm…fine.' Drake replied, regaining his composure and wiping some sweat from his forehead.

'If you say so.' Ozpin said as he stepped out of the elevator to make room for the Nathan and the others to exit.

Everyone was eventually out of the elevator, after which Glynda indicated that Nathan and the others' small moment of freedom had begun.

'Ozpin, can I talk to you for a moment?' Abraham asked, grabbing Ozpin by the shoulder. Nathan didn't stick around to listen to the conversation. He exited the complex that housed the elevator, as well as several other rooms that Nathan would look into at a later date, and entered the courtyard that connected the different wings of Beacon. Right now, he sights were set on a group of Beacon Academy Huntresses-in-training that he had to go not-fornicate with.

An audible grumble resounded from his stomach, reminding him of another need he had.

_Right after I grab breakfast._

* * *

It was strange for Drake to walk into the Beacon cafeteria. For once, he didn't get shady glances from everyone in the room when he just wanted something to take back to his hideout. Instead, the cafeteria was filled with students. Some wore the Beacon Academy standard uniform, while others wore what Drake could only assume was their combat outfit.

Ozpin and Glynda had not told Drake about the Hunter that would be watching over him, so Drake had made it his personal mission to try to locate where from the crowd the Hunter lurked.

Even though Ozpin or the Judicators weren't there to guide him on what to do next, he knew well enough how to proceed. _Although, Ozpin didn't ask if I knew how to get my food or if there were any special greetings I needed to give to identify myself. Eh, this school must have a standard way of working._

And it did, for as soon as Drake had grabbed a tray, he quickly rushed through the buffet presented before him and did not linger to try to start up small talk or think too hard about what he wanted to eat.

He picked out a few staple foods, some bread and butter, two hard-boiled eggs and an apple for good measure. He also found an empty table in the corner of the large hall, which he gladly sat at, preferring the solitude.

His eyes scanned the faces in the hall, looking for his partner as he slowly ate, trying to enjoy this freedom while it lasted. He spotted Nathan a few tables away, flirting with several of the students at Beacon who were fawning over him. He eventually spotted her, who turned out to be squinting at him as well, trying to make sure that she wasn't seeing things.

He waved to her, lightening her mood who gestured for him to come over. He sat there, trying to get the message through that his table was more secluded, but that was before he noticed the other people sitting at her table who were also looking at him.

_Oh great,_ Drake thought. _She made friends. _He picked up his tray with a sigh before approaching. As close as he was, he also noticed that Nicole had changed out of her usual attire and chose instead to wear the school's uniform.

_She looks…nice._

'Hey you.' She greeted as he approached. 'Haven't seen you around here before.'

'Well, I don't get out a lot.' Drake replied, taking his seat and taking in the other people on the table. One of them was a brunette boy who couldn't have been more than nineteen-years old, but had the skin of a fifty-year old veteran, as well as an eye-patch that barely covered a huge gash across his face. The other two were faces that he recognised. The former-Judicator with his short-trimmed hair, and the girl with a large scar on her neck and shoulder-length black hair.

Nicole picked out on this and spoke up. 'Oh, right. Let me introduce you to the team. You've already met Leroy, that's Kanary and over there's Cody.' Pointing at each individual as she spoke.

'Good morning.' Was the only suitable reply that Drake could think of, cracking one of the hard-boiled eggs.

'Together, we're team NCKL.' Pronounced "nickel". 'Led by yours truly.' She boasted, pointing her thumb towards her.

'So, you're our great leader's boyfriend.' Leroy spoke up, causing Drake to nearly choke on his egg.

'You told them that we're…?' Drake asked, glaring at Nicole who replied with a sheepish grin and a shrug.

'They forced me to tell them how I was related to you. Besides, was I not supposed to tell them?'

Drake pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. 'Nevermind.' He turned his attention back to Nicole's teammates. 'I hope she hasn't been giving you too hard of a time.'

'Hey!'

'Only when it comes to weapon configurations and copying off our notes in class.' The boy named Cody replied, swallowing a handful of pills.

'Yeah, the workshops here are great! I've already made those modifications to Moonlight that we discussed.' Nicole beamed, full of energy as ever. Oddly enough, Drake found the energy around Nicole to be soothing, despite her outgoingness. 'Besides,' she turned to face Cody. 'We're a team. Aren't we supposed to help each other out?'

'And we do.' Cody replied, folding his arms and leaning back as he did.

Drake couldn't help the smile that tugged at his mouth as he turned back to Nicole. 'Sorry to interrupt any discussions you four were having, but could I pull Nicole away for a few moments?'

'You two lovebirds need a little privacy?' Leroy teased, receiving a blown raspberry from Nicole.

'We're not…can we just have a moment.' He asked without waiting for a reply. He pulled Nicole away towards the edge of the cafeteria by the hand, finding that she wasn't resisting like the first time they met.

The Recall flashed before his eyes, but he quickly shook it clear. Slowing down to lean closer to Nicole to speak to her, he whispered in a hush voice, covered by the white noise of the cafeteria.

'I need your help.' He stated, coming to a stop against the wall. He craned his neck to make sure that none of her teammates had followed her and that they weren't too close to any of the other students.

'Don't you always?' she said with an eye-roll, which Drake frowned at, changing her attitude to a more serious one. 'Right, what do you need? We're breaking out of here aren't we?'

'Yes, but I need more time and more materials.' He said, revealing the top of a device he kept concealed in his robes. He angled it at such that only Nicole, or someone looking really hard could see clearly.

'What is that?' she asked, reaching for it before Drake quickly hid it in the secret inner-pocket of his robes.

'When it's finished, it'll be a security pass and an EMP. I have a plan to get out of here, but this thing needs to be finished first. I just need you to go about and take data readings from the different security locks around the campus. You remember how to right?' he asked, raising an eyebrow at his latest attempt to lighten the mood, a skill that he had picked up from his time with Nicole.

'Yeah but, where did you find the parts for that thing?' she asked, triggering another Recall, this one of the parts of the broken laptop that he quickly picked up when none of the others were looking on that night in Palladium Tower.

'Call it my resourcefulness. Anyway, I just need you to collect the data and decipher the password. Can you do that without being caught?'

'Yeah, I can!' she said enthusiastically. 'I'll have it back to you as soon as I can.'

'Sounds good to me too.' Nathan replied out of nowhere, leaning on the wall of the cafeteria just out of Drake's vision.

He jumped at first. 'What did…how much did you hear?'

'Oh, I heard enough. And if you want me to keep quiet about your little plan, I want in.' Nathan demanded.

Drake looked to Nicole for a few seconds before she replied with a shoulder shrug. 'Three heads are better than two?'

He let out a sigh before nodding. 'Alright, I could use an extra pair of hands with collecting the materials. I'll fill you in on what we need on the go.'

'Awesome.' He turned to Nicole with a mischievous smirk. 'And I'll make sure to fill you in later.' He said with a wink.

'Eww, gross.'

'Good. Now, kiss me to look inconspicuous.' Drake ordered, catching Nicole by surprise.

'What?' she asked as her face turned a light shade of red.

'Your teammates are watching. I want to make them think we're… y'know.' He explained, unable to find the right words without lying to Nicole about how he thought of their "relationship".

Her stunned expression eventually turned to one of mischievousness. 'Gladly.' She said, pulling Drake's face closer for a chaste kiss. They broke contact before returning back to the table she sat at.

'So, what were you two talking about?' Leroy asked, prying for information about what the display of affection was about.

'Oh, y'know. Couple stuff. You wouldn't understand.' Nicole replied while linking arms with Drake. He personally didn't enjoy such intimate contact, but he learned to enjoy it, if only to keep up the façade.

'I have plenty of experience in a relationship.' Leroy replied, huffing as he folded his arms.

'For the last time, Leroy. Your relationship with your shotgun does not count.'

'How dare you! Boomstick and I have a very real, very emotional relationship!' he shouted, feigning offence as he put on a display of actually pulling out the shotgun, which was enough to make some of the other students and patrons of the cafeteria to scoot away or move tables.

'Leroy!' Nicole shouted with an unusual tone of command. 'What have I told you about talking while threatening people at weapon-point?'

The man grumbled for a few seconds before putting the weapon away, causing the other students in the cafeteria to relax. 'Not to do it.'

'Good. Now-' Nicole was cut off by a man that looked familiar to Drake, though he couldn't find out from where.'

'Sorry to interrupt, Mr Venari.' The man in his amber trench coat and closely-cut brown hair stood out from the crowd, with a more mature face and body as well as his extraordinarily large revolver. 'Ozpin has requested your presence, as well as the presence of the other members of your team. The other Hunters assigned to them have already alerted them and have been instructed to bring you to Ozpin's office.'

_So soon? It's barely been an hour!_

It clicked then. 'Oh right. You're that one Hunter…Horizon right?' Drake said, thinking for a moment.

'Yes, that is my name. Please follow me.' He repeated, which was enough reason for Drake to unclasp his arm from Nicole's.

'We'll talk later.' He said, giving her a wink as he walked away, which she responded to with her own wink.


	27. Chapter 23

**A/N: Just wanted to ask an open question to the community that you can either PM or post as a review. What do you think Summer Rose's weapon is? I know she hasn't been introduced into the story yet, but trust me when I say that she and Team STRQ are going to play an important role in the story.**

**Happy New Year everyone!**

Meet the Antagonists

Regrouping with Drake on the way to Ozpin's office, Nathan thought of the plan to escape that Drake and his _lovely _associate were concocting. _A chance to be free and grope whoever I want…why would I pass that up? I just hope the bounty hunter knows what he's doing._

'Thank you, Corporal.' Said the Hunter called Horizon to the Judicator who had escorted them, 'I think I can take it from here.'

'Are you sure?' the Judicator asked, looking first to Drake then to Nathan with a glare.

'Yes. Thank you.' The Judicator hesitated for a moment before giving a crisp salute and turning on his heel and walking away, slightly stiffer than before as Nathan noticed.

'Ladies first.' Horizon said, gesturing towards the elevator. Drake strode in first, followed by Nathan and the Hunter, who quickly hit the button to Ozpin's office, before turning his back to the doorway to face the two convicts. The elevator ride was filled with a silence that was somewhere between welcomed and awkward until Horizon spoke up.

'Y'know, I don't care what you two did to end up here, nor do I care about who you were before.' He said with a sigh. 'Only that you make it right by doing as Ozpin says and not breaking anymore rules. Or people.'

'I think me and Drake here are far past that point.' Nathan said, giving a slight bow of his head. 'Aren't we?'

'Since it's either this or an Atlesian prison for what I've done, I guess I am.' Drake replied.

Horizon gave a huff of approval as a response. 'I'll believe it when I see it.' The elevator doors opened to give access to Ozpin's office at the top of the Beacon clock tower. Nathan absent-mindedly smoothed out his grey and black suit as he walked over to Ozpin, who was lounging by his table.

'Didn't know we were going to be called upon so soon.' Nathan spoke up. 'I know time flies, but I'm pretty sure that what we got was barely two hours. I didn't even get a chance to tour the grounds once I was done with breakfast.'

Ozpin smiled as he stood up to face the two. 'Well, something came up that I felt required your attention.'

'What is it this time?' Drake asked, straight to the point. 'And where are the others?'

'Abraham and Subject 226 are on their way. If I were to guess, I would say that they should be here in the next ten seconds…give or take.' Ozpin gestured for the two to take a seat, which Nathan happily accepted while Drake remained standing. 'As for your next mission, I wanted to wait for the others to arrive so I don't have to repeat myself.'

The three of them waited in silence until the chime of an elevator arriving sounded, announcing that someone had arrived.

Abraham ran out of the elevator, slightly out of breath. 'Sorry I'm late, sir. Got a little caught up and whatnot.'

'Good morning, Abraham.' Ozpin asked as he paced in a slow circle around his desk. 'Where's Rachel?'

'Oh, I ran ahead of her.' He replied with a chuckle. 'She really needs to get out more.'

Ozpin chuckled as well. 'I'll be sure to tell her you said that.'

Abraham paled slightly at that before Nathan spoke up.

'How do you do that?' he asked as he leaned on the armrest of the chair he sat in.

'Do what?'

'The speeding around thing. You must be going at something like sixty kilometres per hour.'

'Well, record time is more like fifty-four.' Abraham mumbled. 'It's actually my semblance. I call it the Patriot's Will. When I activate it, it enhances almost all my physical aspects for a short time. It means I can run faster, punch harder and take more hits at the expense of Aura.' He explained, taking a seat next to Nathan.

'Interesting. I've only met a couple of Self-Buffers in my life.' Nathan said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, thinking it made him look intelligent.

'Self-Buffers? That's what you call them?' Abraham asked, bemused. 'That sounds really lame.'

'I just thought it worked.' Nathan defended. 'And hey, you get the idea by the name. Works way better than when I tried to call them Enhanced. People were all like, "What part of them is enhanced?" and "How are they enhanced?" Uh, really annoying.'

Abraham was about to say something in reply, but the chime of the elevator and the grunts of Judicators cut him off.

'Get in there you son of a…' The Judicator said as he hurled Wolf to the ground.

'Ah, good. We're all here.' Ozpin said as he gestured for the Judicator to leave just as the elevator that Abraham had arrived in opened to reveal Rachel, out of breath and red in the face.

'Dammit, Abraham! Stop doing that!' she shouted.

'You're just slow is all.' Abraham remarked, sticking out his tongue.

'Thank you, Rachel. Now if you would be so kind as to fetch their weapons. I feel that they may be needing them soon.' Ozpin spoke calmly as he gestured to Rachel to follow the Judicator down the elevator with his mug. She groaned in frustration once before complying and following the Judicator without another word, Horizon right behind her.

'Too bad she's got such an attitude.' Nathan murmured as he leaned closer to Abraham. 'It'll be a lot harder than I thought it would be to get her in bed.'

Abraham shrugged at that. 'It's just one of her distinguishing characteristics.'

'Alright, now that everyone is here, we can begin. I apologize for having to cut your rest so short, but the job must come first. I'll see to it that all of you get a longer rest tomorrow.' Ozpin explained as he pressed a button under his desk that caused a hidden projector to project the image of a large, beige-coloured rectangular building on the window.

_Again with that phrasing. He's purposely trying to appeal to us and treat us nicely, but why?_

'Just ten minutes ago, we received reports of a group of cultists calling themselves The Old Eclipse captured the Vale National Museum and are now holding hostages. They have made no demands and seem to have no intention to cooperate or negotiate.'

'Nothing good ever came out of cultists, no matter what they stand for.' Drake spoke to no one in particular. 'I've never heard of them before though.' Drake directed the sentence to Ozpin, who answered the silent question.

'The Old Eclipse is a small cult of Grimm worshippers that have been on our watch-list for quite some time. However, before today, we had no idea of how aggressive they could be. Most of their previous "public statements" had simply been rallies warning people that the only way to stop the Grimm was to join them. They've never undertaken such aggressive action before.' Ozpin explained, taking another drink from his mug before placing it on his desk. He turned to face Wolf. 'You wouldn't happen to know anything about them, would you Wolf?'

The Wolf creature just huffed, sounding somewhere between agitated and annoyed.

Ozpin waited another second, seeming to actually expect a reply from the creature, before continuing. 'I'll take that as a no.' he murmured. 'Your mission is simple, DAWN.' He spoke in a much louder voice that echoed around the large room. 'You are to infiltrate the museum, neutralise the cultists, and rescue any hostages that you may come across. I feel that I should inform you that we would prefer that you not kill too many cultists, as it makes a better impression on the Judicators and Protectors.'

'The Judicators and local Vale enforcement units have already set up a barricade around the museum, so all you need to do is either drive them out, or neutralise them inside the museum. That's is all. Rachel should be waiting for you once you take the elevator to the ground floor. I have already told her to give you a few moments to stock up in the Armoury. Good luck, and please try not to break any valuable artefacts.'

On cue, the doors to one of the elevators opened and a small group of Protectors emerged to escort them to the Armoury. Nathan let out a sigh as he got ready to depart once again.

_Here we go again._

* * *

'Well, what if Subject 226 dies in the heat of battle?' Abraham asked into the Communications Link aboard the airship as it soared across the skies of Vale. The Communications Link displayed a video feed of Professor Ozpin, who was previously briefing the team once more before they were plunged into the mission.

Ozpin pinched his nose and shook his head slowly before responding. 'I guess there's no helping it then, but I sincerely hope you put in all of your effort to keep all of your teammates alive.' His voice was slightly distorted, which was made even more difficult to hear because of the hum of the engines.

'I think I got that, Ozpin.' Abraham replied before Nathan shifted into view of the camera above the wide-screen.

'Just out of curiosity,' he shouted over the rushing wind, clearly not wanting to be misheard. 'What is it that these cultists wanted from a museum?'

'Unknown.' Ozpin replied before taking a sip of his coffee. 'But it is suspected that they are after some artefact. They won't be leaving the museum anyway, we have it under heavy siege, so that should give you plenty of time to stop whatever it is their doing.'

Abraham turned to face Drake who was sitting on the fold-out chairs of the airship while looking over his shotgun-like weapon. 'So, "fearless leader"' he mocked, causing Drake's hooded mask to turn towards him. '-any plans or strategy formulated to…successfully complete this mission?'

Drake quickly holstered the weapon and stood up in order to size-up to Abraham. 'When dealing with cultists,' he said in a monotonous, distorted voice. '-don't hesitate.'

'To do what? Pull the trigger?' Abraham was honestly hoping that was not what he meant, though he guessed that was what it was.

Drake was silent for a moment before replying. 'If the cultists are willing to spill blood for their cause, we should be ready to defend ourselves by any means necessary.'

Abraham nodded his understanding before replying. 'So to stop a monster, you have to become a monster.'

'You can't kill a killer without becoming one yourself.' Drake replied, more sharply this time.

'That doesn't mean you have to follow down that path like there's no going back.'

Before Drake could reply, Abraham heard the crackle of his earpiece. The voice of the pilot could be clearly heard despite the roar of the passing wind. 'Attention, passengers. We will now be beginning out descent and will be landing at the site of the besieged museum in less than one minute. Please ensure that all seats are returned to the upright position, and please never set foot on my ship again.'

Abraham tapped a button on the earpiece to activate the microphone function. 'Oh, come on Len. Don't be like that.' Because of safety reasons, the earpieces that had been given to the members of Team DAWN transmitted on all Judicator, Protector and Hunter frequencies.

'I repeat. Never!' the pilot said again before Abraham could feel that the ship was slowing down.

Abraham caught glimpse of the museum, as well as the large barricade the combined forces of the police, Judicators and Protectors had set up, through the open side-door of the airship as it circled the building in a descent. He turned to Wolf, who was still being held against the wall by two Judicators, wondering how they might eventually have to kill it when it turned on them.

Abraham turned away once more to stare out of the opening as the airship landed a few meters in front of the museum, which was a large, rectangular, beige-coloured building with a featureless entrance aside from the two-meter high double-doors and two columns on either side of the entrance. He took in a deep breath to calm himself as he adjusted his top-hat.

'Well, here goes.'

* * *

After Sabre stepped off the airship, he couldn't help feel the scrutinizing gazes of the Judicators and local Vale enforcers on him, watching his every movement. It wasn't like the last mission where it was just a few Judicators assigned to escort him to and fro Beacon. This time, he was out in the open for everyone to see in broad daylight. What made matters worse was that this time, everyone wanted to watch him. Waiting for the moment when he would slip up.

_I've got to be even more careful with gathering materials this time._

'Release it.' Sabre ordered as they crossed the barricade and approached the entrance to the museum.

'What?' the Judicator asked in surprise. 'You want us to let this thing loose?'

Sabre found the Judicator's logic quite irritating. 'Would you rather follow us into the museum with your hands occupied?' he asked as he drew an Ursas' Claw and aimed it at the Wolf creature. 'Release it.'

The Judicators were unsure for a few moments and hesitated before pressing a button on each of the shafts of their catchpoles, releasing the grip they had on the creature.

This time, Sabre was ready for any sudden movements, with his free hand moving to where the detonator was. However, the creature simply stood there, awaiting command. Sabre made a slight gesture towards the museum entrance with his gun, which Wolf complied with by slowly walking towards the entrance.

The whole time, the Judicators still had their guns aimed at its back, while slowly getting behind the barricade. Sabre hesitated for a moment when Wolf stopped in front of the museum entrance, running ideas in his head from the last time he infiltrated a sieged building. He swallowed a small lump in his throat before he spoke. 'Open it.'

Wolf growled once more, turning its head to bare its fangs for a moment before turning back to the door. As he drew a fist back, Sabre watched as what seemed like shadows began to surround the appendage before he thrust it forward at the door, and was blown back by the force of the doors being blasted off their hinges.

_Mines. _He thought as he got ready to put up a shield in case any cultists were standing guard. It wasn't until the smoke cleared that he saw the entrance to be clear.

'Did you know that was going to happen?' Abraham asked, clearly surprised and almost as ready for a fight as he was.

'It was just a theory.' Sabre said as he turned to where Wolf was getting up. He had a large snarl all across his face, but made no move to attack, which surprised Sabre.

'Hey, hold up.' Abraham said as he placed a hand on Sabre's shoulder.

He turned around to give him his full attention. 'What?'

Abraham gingerly handed Sabre a small plastic bottle that he had concealed under his top-hat. Upon reading the label on the bottle, he gave Abraham a sceptical look, not that Abraham could see it because of the Sabre mask. 'Wait what?'

Abraham sighed heavily before speaking again, seeming to find it hard to say what he wanted. 'I want to be sure that your Recall Syndrome doesn't become too much of a problem, so I pulled a few strings and got you some of the prescription medication.' He paused for a second, analysing Sabre's response. 'Just because you're being forced to do this doesn't mean you have to suffer every single moment of it.'

Sabre thought on Abraham's words for a moment before he removed his mask. 'Thank you.' Without another word, he opened the bottle and swallowed a single pill before putting his mask back on.

'Advance!' Sabre barked, as he moved into the museum first, stepping over rubble and bits of the walls and floor that got blown off in the explosion. He moved down the white, marble hallway to the main reception area, where the cultists were moving boxes before they heard his footsteps. He used the word "Cultist" lightly as they looked more like a private military, as most of them were equipped with quite advanced-and expensive-weaponry, as well as what Sabre could make out as pretty damn good Kevlar. As soon as they saw him, they all drew their weapons and opened up.

Sabre quickly formed a shield and dove behind a column, and with his back to it, he could see the rest of his team moving and trying to find cover from the fire. _Team. _The word left a bitter feeling in his mouth.

Abraham drew his large axe and began deflecting bullets as he sprinted for the pillar opposite to Sabre's. Wolf simply dove forward, claws outstretched while Nathan formed an illusion of himself as he circled around the cultists.

Drake quickly activated his communicator. 'Nathan, circle around them. Block off their exits. Abraham, you're with me. I spotted four-' he chanced a look around the pillar, though most of the cultists were too busy with Wolf to notice him. '-make that six overhead on the next level. I'll distract them, you move in.' he turned to look at Abraham, who gave him a very stiff thumbs-up.

'On three!' He shouted, as fire peppered along his column.

'Three!' Abraham shouted as he burst around the column with an inhuman speed as Sabre turned around the corner to take a few shots at the cultists, who were retreating very quickly for some reason. Luckily, Nathan was there to block off their exit as Wolf closed in to finish the job.

Sabre had to form his Ward to protect him from the rain of bullets on him as Abraham sprinted up the staircase to the left of the large room, practically tackling one of the cultists to the ground.

With the other five men's attention focused on Abraham, Sabre began to take headshots with his Nightingale, and soon after, the cultists had been either incapacitated or killed.

'Reception cleared.' Abraham said with his hand to his communicator as he walked down the stairs from the first floor.

'There could be more.' Nathan said as he seemed to be looking around for something.

'Which way do we go?' Sabre said, thinking out loud as the echo of a gunshot could be heard from one hallway. Sabre made one quick check that Wolf was still there before making his way down the hallway, sure that the rest would follow. 'Let's go! West-wing.'

They raced down the hallway, which was littered with rubble and scorch marks from gun shots and fire. Paintings and sculptures worth thousands of Lien had been damaged in the process and from the condition of the hallways that he had passed, Sabre was beginning to suspect that the cultists were not here to steal the valuable artwork.

_So what are they after?_

It was then that Sabre heard voices and he made a hand gesture for the others to slow down. Ducking behind a sculpture, Sabre was able to watch the cultists at work, swiping down exhibits and ripping apart paintings. He also saw some of the hostages, tied up and gagged on the floor, with one man ready to shoot them at any point.

'Search everywhere! The Map Stone must be here!' one of the cultists wearing a crimson set of robes and a hood spoke, pointing fingers at different art pieces and commanding that they be torn to pieces.

'Forget it. We've already been compromised. I could hear the fight from the next wing, they've sent someone in for us.' A mercenary said, one that Sabre was trying to piece together where he had seen him before.

_Scruffy hair, leather overcoat, armour padded legs, giant double staff-scythe…It can't be._

'No, we can't leave yet. It has to be here!' the cultist in charge said.

'Everyone, watch out for the man with the large scythe-weapon.' He whispered into the communicator.

'Why? What's going on?' Abraham whispered back from behind a marble column.

'If he's who I think he is, then it'll be over for you if he touches your axe.' Sabre said as he took note of how many hostages there were.

'What do you mean? Who is he?' Nathan asked this time.

'What's the matter? Afraid Papa Vicitor's gonna spank you if you come home empty handed?' The mercenary taunted, getting no more than the wave of a hand from the cultist leader.

'When I say go, Wolf and Abraham rush forward. Nathan and I will provide cover fire.' Sabre whispered, flipping the iron-sight on the Nightingale.

'That's still not an answer, Drake.' Abraham pressed the matter.

Letting out a long sigh, Sabre finally decided that he had to let them in on what he knew. 'His name is Raider. He's a ruthless mercenary and treasure hunter, and has the Blade Whisperer semblance.'

'The what?' Nathan asked, but Sabre decided to drop the matter, feeling as if he had revealed enough for now.

'One.'

'What's Blade Whisperer?'

'Two.'

'You're not going to answer my question are you?'

'Three!' he shouted, appearing out of cover and firing at several of the cultists. Most of his shots met their mark as Abraham was the first to rush forward in a dark blur, followed closely by Wolf.

Dodging the shower of bullets that came their way, Sabre and Nathan were eventually side-by-side as they picked off several of the cultists while Abraham and Wolf moved in a large circle along the edges of the circular room. All the while Sabre was trying to shoot Raider, but was unsuccessful as he used his dual scythe-staff to deflect any shots that Sabre sent his way.

Within moments, nearly all the cultists had been either neutralised or maimed, except for the ones closest to Raider and two other individuals, one wearing a stealth suit made out of Kevlar with a pair of night-vision goggles, wielding a wide array of guns, and the other wearing tattered garbs under a large, tattered black cloak, wielding a pair of tomahawks.

As Sabre and Nathan closed in, Raider grabbed one of the hostages and put the blade of his scythe-staff to the man's neck. 'Back off or he dies!' he yelled. The other two mercenaries also grabbed their own hostages as they put their weapons to different soft-spots.

_Four hostages…there were six when I last checked._

He noticed that Abraham and Nathan faltered slightly in their standoff because of the threat, while he was doing all he could himself to maintain intimidating.

'Raider, we have the building surrounded. Come quietly, or come in a body bag.' Sabre threatened, pulling on the bolt-action of the Nightingale as he let a steaming shell out of the chamber of the sniper-halberd.

'Well I-Wait, you look familiar…' Raider said seeming to loosen the grip on his weapon for a fraction of a second as he seemed to study Sabre. 'Maybe we can negotiate this, our freedom for the hostages.' He offered, his tone never losing its threatening atmosphere.

Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Wolf creeping on all four towards the gathered group of cultists and mercenaries while they were distracted. He seemed to be almost waiting for Sabre's command to attack, until he lunged forward as Raider opened his mouth to say something else.

Raider turned around to face the new threat, slicing the man's throat while he did. His mercenaries followed suite, killing the hostages that they were using as human shields. The mercenaries remained focused on Sabre and the others while Raider traded strikes with Wolf, easily parrying and deflecting his attacks while giving him a few strikes across the chest.

'What the hell is that?' Raider shouted in between attacks.

Eventually, just as Abraham charged towards the group, the mercenary marksman pulled out a flare gun from a holster on his leg and fired it at the ground, creating a large smokescreen.

_Trickshot. That's what his name is. Craftiest marksman this side of the Remnant._

'Don't let them get away!' Sabre shouted, charging into the smokescreen himself. He swung wildly as he tried to hit something while his mask adjusted to the lack of vision, abandoning care as all the hostages were dead.

Eventually, he found a cultist wielding a scimitar, who he locked himself in combat with for a few seconds before he was able to incapacitate him with a heavy swing to his thigh, knocking him to the floor out cold.

When the smoke finally cleared, Sabre saw Raider and the others standing by the exit archway.

'Until next time.' Raider said, a cocky grin spreading across his face.

Wolf, however, didn't seem to have given up so easily. He fired several shards of darkness at them, only for Trickshot to shoot them apart before they could get close. He did that with one hand, while the other reached for a compact grenade launcher and fired a shot at the roof of the exit archway.

It collapsed just as Abraham had sprinted over to it, and Nathan had reached his side, reloading his guns.

'Dammit!'

* * *

Crouched over the corpse of one of the hostages, Nathan held his nose as he checked for a pulse. Feeling none, he rose to his feet to break the news to his team. 'No good. This one's dead as well.'

Abraham carried the lone surviving hostage as he gently placed him against the wall. 'Hey, hey. It's alright.' He whispered soothingly trying to calm the man as he was still in shock. All the while, Drake dragged two of the unconscious cultists up against a column to be questioned.

'How did they break through the barricade so quickly?' Nathan asked no one in particular.

'The Judicators say that they had support hiding somewhere that jumped out to help them get away. Not to mention those mercenaries looked quite good at what they do.' Abraham replied as he gave the hostage some water from a flask he found behind the counter of the reception.

None of it mattered to Wolf. What did matter was the smell of Grimm and darkness on these men. In truth, Wolf did know the Old Eclipse, if only in out of place fragments of his old life. They were, after all, the ones who created him.

'Alright, talk!' Drake barked at one of the conscious cultists. 'Where did your friends go?'

The man groaned in pain, clenching his bleeding side. 'I will never betray the cause.' He wheezed.

'Then you will die for it.' Drake murmured as he reared back his hand, wielding a knife and ready to end the man's life.

But before he could do it, Abraham bashed the cultist over the head with the end of his axe, knocking him unconscious. The two seemed to be share a silent conversation for a few seconds, a conversation of expressions, before Drake stood up to approach the second cultist.

All the while, a name that one of the Human's spoke rang in Wolf's mind.

'_Vicitor.'_

_Who is he? Why do I know his name? Could he be one of the old cult?_

_I demand answers!_

'Tell me where the rest of the cult is!' Drake shouted at the remaining cultist.

'I know where they lurk.' Wolf said, not looking at the mercenary for a reaction. He had to know the truth, and if it turned out to be true, he needed to end it.

_They are not true Grimm. Only true, Grimm deserve what they seek…_

_What do they seek?_

'What?' Drake asked Wolf.

'I know where the shadows lurk.' He said, turning to face his "leader". 'The creatures of fallen light. The creatures of the eclipse.'

'Damn you, foul beast!' the cultist shouted, reaching for a knife, but he was stopped by Nathan, who knocked him over the head with the end of his pistol.

'How do we know it's not trying to trick us?' Nathan asked, pointing a gun at Wolf. 'How do we know it's not going to take us somewhere dark and remote to kill us?'

There was a heavy silence in the air, as eyes turned to Drake for his final decision. 'We don't.' he said. 'But I have the solution if it does.' He said, pulling out the trigger to the bomb in Wolf's neck.

After a few seconds, Abraham was the first to be convinced by the idea, tapping the communicator in his ear. 'Professor Ozpin, we have a lead on where the Old Eclipse is working. Permission to pursue.' He paused for a few moments, holding up his hand to show that he was getting a reply before turning to Drake and giving him a stiff nod.

'Take us there.'


	28. Chapter 24

**A/N: Apologizes for the long break, but I haven't been in contact with the Editorial a lot. Plus, with mocks coming, I needed to maintain focus and…who am I kidding. I'm just a lazy slob is all. Enjoy, review, your criticism is appreciated.**

FEAR Part 1.

Many moons had passed since Wolf last set foot on the grounds of the villa where he and the other Humans stood before. The wooden walls of the villa were partially rotted and the paint coating it cracked and broke off in several places. Dirt and scum had accumulated on the windows that were not broken. The iron fence that blocked the main path up to the villa no longer served its function, as not only were the gates unhinged, but the stone walls they stood on crumbled, allowing anyone to simply climb over them.

Many moons indeed.

The sun was slowly setting as its rays cast the front of the villa into shadows, the orange glow making it seem less menacing. However, Wolf knew of the true darkness that lay within the house, however, he could not sense its presence. Perhaps they found a way to mask it.

The Human, Nathan, approached a bronze sign to the side of the iron gates and read it out loud. 'Transelvane Manor.' He shrugged. 'Haven't heard of this place before.'

'Looks like it belonged to some rich person...a long time ago.' Abraham stated, pushing back the hinged gate. 'Wonder why no one's bought this land yet.'

They had travelled to the edge of Vale as the villa was located near the sheer cliff that led to the place the Human's called Forever Falls.

Drake put his hand to his ear as he spoke to Ozpin through his communicator. 'Ozpin, we've arrived at the place. Are you tracking us?' he paused as the other Human's also seemed to be hearing the same conversation. 'Yes, anything we should know about this, Transelvane Manor?' another pause. 'Alright, we're going in.'

The mercenary unslung his weapon as he approached the gate, which was being held open by Abraham. 'I hope you're telling the truth, Wolf.'

Wolf grunted in reply, picking his way through the rusted gates after Nathan as his mind crept back to his time at the villa.

He remembered the candle-lit walks up to the front door of the darkness after nightfall and when the moon was at its most broken. He remembered the robed figures that held him by the hand-not claw-and guided him to do as they told, with a certain... gentleness to their actions. There was a body on the stone table…

He remembered, though the memories felt fragmented, out of place, making no sense. They did not feel like his memories.

On either side of the cobblestone pathway that led to the front entrance of the villa were the rotting vegetation of grass and plants, that had once grown, but grew no longer. Now, they were brown and brittle and dead.

The front porch of the villa was not far from the gate, less than ten meters away and it was no exception from the decay that had come over the entire house. The wood and stone were black and smooth from use and the wooden floor was brittle and cracked under the weight of Abraham as he took a step on it.

'This place is falling apart.' He murmured under his breath. Turning to Drake, he spoke again. 'Still think that Wolf was telling the truth?'

'It could be a façade. There may be more underneath the exterior.' Drake replied as he stepped up onto the porch with softer steps than Abraham. 'Notice any surveillance?'

'None. Either they're really good at hiding it, or they didn't even bother.' Abraham admitted, turning the doorknob slowly to find it locked.

'Let's all keep alert anyway.' Nathan suggested, aimlessly pointing his weapons at nothing in particular. 'If they are that good at hiding their security, then they already know we're here.'

'That's all I need.' Abraham said before tackling the front double-doors, splintering them off their hinges.

'Real stealthy, Linkin.' Drake said as he scanned the room for any threats, and finding none.

'What? He said that they might know we're already here.' Abraham countered, flexing his shoulders as he took in the large foyer they were in.

* * *

_This place is a complete mess. _He thought as he took in the mould-covered carpets, a portrait on the right wall of the foyer, rotted beyond recognition, and twin staircases that led to the second floor. There were three different doors on each wall, probably leading to three different areas of the house.

The house was probably very grand at one point, and the past magnificence of the foyer could be seen even in its decrepit state. Nathan noted that there was even a section in the roof where a chandelier probably used to be anchored.

Other than that, the house seemed to have been stripped of its interior.

Along with the chandelier, there were outlines of where several tables and pedestals once stood along the walls. There was another large impression of what Nathan thought might be a piano…

'Split up and search.' Drake commanded, taking slow steps towards the staircase. 'Stay alert. They might be hiding somewhere.'

Abraham gestured for Nathan to take the door on the left while he took the one on the right. They were unsure of what to do with Wolf, but left him to his own as he wandered from wall to wall, touching the mould-covered wood and running his claws along it with no apparent destination.

Nathan approached the door slowly, but as soon as he reached it, he kicked it open. On the other side, he found that he had entered a long hallway of doors, with a window at the end where it made a sharp right turn.

_I'd better take this door-to-door to make sure. _He thought as he put his ear to the first door on the right, reeling back when he found that the wood wasn't as dry as it appeared.

Taking a deep breath, he held one of the Silver Blood's to the door as he pushed it open. Apparently, he had pushed it open so quickly that it just broke off its hinges. He paid it no mind as he searched the room, to find nothing.

No cultists, no furniture…well there was the mould, but other than that it was just an empty room. _What room? I don't know, probably a guest room._

Repeating the process with more or less the same results-some rooms were mouldier than others, he eventually searched the entire wing of the villa. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned around and headed back the way he came.

He found that Abraham was already waiting at the foot of the staircase, while Wolf exited the door in between the staircases, muttering something as he did.

'Nothing down this end.' Nathan announced, just as Drake walked out of one of the doors on the second floor.

'Second floor is clear too. Haven't sensed any other presences either.' He said, looking to Abraham for his results.

'Same with the right wing of the villa. This place is deserted!' he said as he stood up to approach the entrance to the villa. 'Let's face it, if they were still here, we would have sensed them. Or at least sensed them watching us.'

'What about that one door?' he asked, pointing to the door opposite the entrance doorway, the one Wolf came from. 'Wolf, find anything interesting in there?'

Wolf turned to face Nathan. 'An energy exists in that room, but not the one we seek.' He replied, as cryptic as ever.

Nathan looked to Abraham as he turned away from the entrance and approached the door. He pushed it open, axe at the ready before entering the room. A few seconds passed, but Abraham did not exit the room. Eventually, Nathan looked to Drake with the tinge of concern on his face as he followed Abraham into the room. _Now that I focus on it, I do get an eerie feeling from that room._

He breathed a sigh of relief as his teammate was not injured, but was instead pulling out all the compartments of a drawer. Nathan took in what had to be the most furbished room in the house. _It looks like either a small meeting room, or an office room. _He thought, analysing the drawer, table, couple of chairs, all made of wood.

That was when his eyes fell on a lone candlestick attached to the wall on the left. _Wait a minute…_

Abraham turned around and shrugged his shoulders as Drake entered the room. 'Nothing here, I've checked the drawer, the table-'

'Did you check for secret compartments in the drawer or table?' Drake asked in return.

'Uhhh, well…' Abraham didn't get a chance to finish the reply. When Nathan pulled down on the candlestick, there was a low rumbling as a rectangular section of the wall retracted to its side, revealing a hidden staircase.

'Whoa,' Abraham exclaimed in genuine surprise. 'How did you know that was there?'

Nathan shrugged. 'It's a common cliché; the candlestick in the creepy old house usually triggers a secret basement or something, revealing that the old man is actually an assassin or something.' He explained.

'When has that ever…never mind.' Abraham said with a sigh, walking towards the hidden staircase.

Nathan followed close behind Abraham as they descended down the staircase. When it got too hard to see, Abraham pulled out a crystal of Fire Dust to provide some illumination. When they reached the bottom of the staircase, Nathan did the same with an Energy Dust crystal to properly see the room he was in.

Unlike the rest of the villa, this room was made of stone. By way of feeling his way along the walls of the room, he found that the room was rectangular, spanning seven meters long and five meters wide. The room, like many others in the house were devoid of anything except for a stone altar situated roughly in the centre of the room.

'What's this?' Drake asked as he descended the staircase. He approached the stone altar and began to run his hand along its length. 'Looks like an altar, but I don't see any carvings or markings.' He thought out loud.

'Look for a torch or something. We can't see too much with just the crystals.' Abraham said as he made his way over to the altar.

'A torch? In a secret room hidden for who knows how many years?' Nathan exclaimed as he rubbed the crystal to produce more light. It was then that he noticed the glint of brown on the altar. 'Wait, is that blood?'

His question was left unanswered when a crackle came through their communicators. 'Team DAWN, report in.' he heard Professor Ozpin say.

'Ozpin, it's Abraham.' He said as he tapped his own communicator. 'We arrived at the location, but we didn't find anything. The place has been abandoned for a while.'

'Well we need you to head to a new location: August Elementary School.' He said as Drake began making his way up the stairs.

'An elementary school?' Nathan thought out loud.

'Yes, one that has been closed for a while on the outskirts of the kingdom.' He explained. 'After you left the museum, we took in any cultists that weren't in critical condition for questioning. When we did, we found out that the Old Eclipse is actually operating from the school.' He said as Nathan reached the top of the staircase. 'Head there now, we will be sending backup.'

As they passed Wolf on the way out of the secret room, he once again had something cryptic to say.

'Some secrets are better left buried, so they can be unearthed by those who seek them.'

* * *

When Ozpin asked whether they needed an airship, Sabre disagreed, thinking that they should approach the place quietly first to scout it out. It may just be his nature to be stealthy, but he consciously told himself that-from what they faced in the museum, they needed to get an idea of what they were really facing.

_These aren't just some crazed cultists, and if Raider is involved, it must mean that they have a lot of Lien at their disposal._

Ozpin then insisted that they be sent a vehicle anyway and sure enough, a small personnel carrier was sent their way as they made their way from the villa and back to the more modern part of Vale. The drive took a whole nine minutes, which admittedly, was much faster than they would have been able to on foot.

That and he didn't have to listen to Nathan's whining when he and Abraham had originally decided to approach on foot.

They reached a compromise with Ozpin, agreeing to be deployed several blocks from the school so that they could approach on foot. Sabre was quite sure that Ozpin did it to ensure that they stuck together, given that the transport took seconds to reach them, implying that he had it waiting and ready when they left the villa.

As he slowly approached the elementary school-clinging to the shadows cast because of the sunset, he noted that they were on another outskirt of Vale. The number of houses and buildings had dwindled and those that were there weren't in great quality.

The driver and their escort had been ordered by Ozpin to wait by the transport for reason's unknown to Sabre, but it helped all the same.

The approach to the school wasn't too difficult or treacherous, until they reached the gates and something caught Sabre's eye that caused him to grab Abraham by the collar and drag him behind a rusty car.

'What was that for?' he asked angrily, as Sabre gestured for Nathan and Wolf to do the same.

Sabre pointed over the car towards the gates, and towards a working security camera. Abraham nodded in understanding once he saw it. 'What do we do about it?'

'We could go around it…' he trailed off, letting Abraham have a say in the matter.

'Or we could smash it and chance a forward assault.' He suggested dully.

'I think we'll go around it.' Sabre stated as he began to move to the opposite end of the car to get a better view of the wall that encircled the school.

'I know, I just wanted to lay out all the options.' Abraham said as he peeked over the Sabre's head. 'Oh, we could go through that break in the wall.' He said, pointing to where he saw the concrete wall crumbled. _Interesting, the front wall is the only one made of iron fencing…_ 'But,' he ducked back down behind the car. 'I saw a sniper.'

Sabre took the few seconds to consider his options, noticing the sniper as well. 'I can take care of him.' Sabre whispered as he broke cover to sprint over to the wall. He didn't look back to see if Abraham had followed or not, it didn't matter so long as he didn't interfere.

Sabre felt along the side of the wall, his eyes never leaving the sniper behind a window on the second floor. His fingers grasped around a loose piece of concrete, which he then hurled across the street, making a loud cracking sound.

It had the intended effect, snapping the sniper out of scanning the streets to focus on the sound, using the scope as he did.

_Good, limit your field of vision. _He thought as he made his way through the opening in the metre-tall wall of concrete and across the dirt to the school. Approaching the nearest window he could, Sabre could already tell that the job was going to be harder than he thought, seeing as it was boarded up along with a few other windows. _The wall does have enough cracks and holes to climb to the second floor…_

Grabbing a kunai in one hand in case he needed something to help him climb, he began scaling the wall. In seconds, he was close enough to reach out and grab hold of the window. Taking a page from something he saw another assassin do, after he had one hand on the windowsill, he swung himself up with the other to grab the sniper and pull him out of the window.

No sooner had the sniper landed on the ground did Sabre drop down on top of him, aiming for his head to knock him out cold.

'All clear.' He spoke into the microphone of his communicator. Abraham was next to him in seconds, looking first at the unconscious sniper before giving him a 'thumbs up'. He turned to see Nathan and Wolf approaching, but stopped them when a shape near the far edge of the wall was outlined by his mask. He noticed that it was a camera, looking right to where the break in the wall was.

His heart slowed down, thinking that they had been caught, before he noticed that the camera was slowly turning away. He quickly gestured for the other two to come over, before offering Abraham a boost to scale the wall.

Abraham declined his help with a dismissive wave and climbed up the wall in a similar way to how Sabre handled it. He offered the same help to Nathan, who accepted the help, before climbing up himself. _I'm sure Wolf can climb just fine on his own using those claws of his._

Once in the room, he noticed Abraham by the door of the classroom they were in. The door was cracked open slightly and he put his finger to his mouth for silence. Sabre crept around the wooden tables and chairs to better hear what Abraham was focusing on.

After adjusting the hearing range on his mask, he was able to pick up the faint trace of voices. Mainly, one voice, shouting something that came garbled out of the earpiece in his mask.

When Sabre made a move to open the door wider, Abraham stopped him with the point of a hand gesture, pointing out two more armed cultists standing by the edge of the floor, overlooking what Sabre thought must have been a courtyard.

He made several hand gestures to Abraham to indicate what his plan was, only to receive a silent, 'What?' Internally sighing, he grabbed Abraham and brought him away from the door.

'We'll burst out and take down both of them as quickly as possible. You'll take the guy on the far end.' He explained.

'Why didn't you just say that? And what does this mean?' he asked, repeating the hand gesture that Sabre showed him.

'Hey guys, what do we do?' Nathan whispered from his end of the classroom.

'Keep watch and keep quiet.' Sabre replied as he moved back over to the door with Abraham. He counted down the seconds on his fingers before abruptly pulling open the door and sprinting out of the room as quietly as he could.

Abraham's footsteps were heavier, but they carried him farther and faster than Sabre could hope to achieve. They both knocked out the two cultists in seconds before they noticed the commotion in the courtyard.

Bathed in the light of the full moon and some standard torches along the walls, it seemed the cultists had gathered in front of two particular individuals. They were both distinguished from the crowd of black robes not only by the distance between them, but by their outfits.

One of them was the cultist in red robes from the museum, while the other was wearing a deep-black jacket with coattails that dragged against the floor over a bone-white tunic that looked more like armour than it did cloth.

The one in the black jacket was holding the other by the neck, lifting him off the ground in what looked like a death grip while they were surrounded by a perfectly round circle of cultists. What amazed Sabre was the sheer number of cultists that formed the circle, as well as the fact that there were those that lined the edges of the courtyard to the point that the cultists standing by the edges stood shoulder to shoulder. The circle had to be at least six people-thick, with some others standing on the second level to observe the spectacle along with…

'Raider.' Sabre said out loud, directing Abraham to the leaning figure against a door directly opposite where they stood. His two associates, Ripper and Trickshot, stood at his side as they were too busy to notice the rest of DAWN directly opposite them.

'You got any last-minute things you want to tell me about this guy?' Abraham asked. Sure enough, on their way to the Transalvane Manor, Sabre had told the others what he knew about Raider. About his exploits as one of the most infamous hired guns and the bounties that people had placed on him that have remained uncollected.

As well as his unique Semblance that made him so menacing.

'Nothing that'll matter in a fight.' Sabre reiterated, his eyes flickering from what was happening in the courtyard to Raider before gesturing for Nathan and Wolf to follow their lead.

'Does he carry anything else aside from that monster of a scythe?' Abraham asked, setting up his staff-rifle on the handrail.

'With Blade Whisperer, he never really needed to.' Sabre replied, doing the same to get a target on the cultists below. The Blade Whisperer Semblance allowed the user to instantaneously learn and memorise the fighting style of anyone, by simply touching their weapon. This excluded people that use hand-to-hand combat, and the trance can last for several hours. The Semblance also allowed for the user to instinctively react to an attack without them having to think about it, providing an advantage in battle.

'Right, because having an overpowered Semblance like that more than accounts for his lack of armaments.' Nathan said, half-joking half-assessing their threat. 'If he doesn't have any long-range capabilities though, we should use that to our advantage.' He recommended before their thoughts were broken by a loud growl from Wolf.

Sabre panicked for a moment, looking back and forth to see whether anyone had picked up on the noise. Fortunately, the commotion below was holding everyone's attention as the man in the black jacket tossed the other to the ground.

'Your insolence has cost us valuable resources and anonymity!' the man in the black jacket shouted.

The man in the blood-red robes was on his knees now. 'Please, Father. Forgive me, I made a mistake in my intelligence and-' he was cut off by a hard slap to the face, knocking him over. For a second, Sabre swore that he saw a dark energy envelop the "Father's" hand.

'Did I give you permission to speak?' he shouted. He made a gesture to the crowd, and they parted to reveal a slim man in tattered black robes that resembled feathers, a pointed black hat and an old, worn, eerie-looking white mask with a beak. It resembled a vulture..._or is that a crow…some sort of carrion bird for sure. Maybe it's one of those plague masks I heard some villages used a few years back…?_

'It is too bad. You were one of my best Bishops.' The Father said as the tattered man in the mask approached.

'No, please Father Vicitor! I can find you the Map Stone, I just need another chance!' He pleaded as two other cultists seized him by the arms.

'And you will, my friend.' Father Vicitor said in a softer voice. 'But first you must be absolved of your sins.'

The red bishop squirmed and pleaded as the man in tattered robes approached him and stuck a syringe into his neck. The red bishop then let out a few choked breaths before collapsing to the floor.

'May the darkness bind you to us all, as you serve as shadow.' Vicitor chanted, which was repeated by the rest of the cultists before he turned to the man in the tattered robes. 'Andrew, awaken him.' He commanded.

The man in the tattered robes and beak-like mask, Andrew, stood to the side of the downed body before slowly raising his hands. As he did, the body of the red bishop rose at the same time, albeit with stiff and jolting motions.

When he reached full height, Father Vicitor put his hand on his shoulder. 'Now you shall continue to serve us without failure.' He said before Andrew dismissed him with the wave of his hand as he walked back into the crowd of cultists, twitching a few times as he did.

'What the hell was that?' Abraham asked no one in particular.

'It looked like something akin to Puppetry. See how that Andrew fella has to move his hands to tell the other guy to move?' Nathan explained.

'I get that!' Abraham replied in a whispered shout. 'I want to know what they did to him to make him like that.'

Nathan was about to reply before Father Vicitor began speaking again. 'Let this be a lesson to all of you!' he said, addressing the crowd. 'All who fail to deliver on their part will join with those that have seen The Eclipse, and return as shadows. Make no mistake, each day we get closer to finding the Map Stone, each day we get closer to finding Solis Mortis! Each day, we get closer to finding our place in the darkness!' he said, his voice getting progressively louder with each sentence.

The crowd joined in the cheer, but so did Wolf. In a very deep voice, he let out a loud growl that echoed across the courtyard of the school, ending the cheers of the crowd to look to its source.

And all of a sudden, any idea of stealth was out the window.

* * *

Before Abraham even made a move to attack, Wolf had already leapt into the courtyard of the school.

_Bloody hell! _He thought as he fired a few explosive rounds into the crowd of cultists.

'Provide cover fire!' Drake ordered as he tried to shoot Raider and the other two mercenaries across from them, Nathan joining in.

Abraham watched Wolf as he fired on the leader of the cult, Vicitor. Wolf was also making a beeline for Vicitor, ripping apart anyone in his way. However, the cultists seemed to be putting up a fight as well, dead-set on protecting their leader.

Wolf was three meters away from Vicitor when Abraham's attention was drawn to a few of the cultists that had climbed a set of stairs to the second floor. Having run dry on the clip in Arboria, Abraham sprinted forward in a burst of Patriot's Will before tackling the first cultist to the ground. The others tried to stab him with their daggers, but Abraham knocked them over and out with a few well-placed swings of the staff to the head and legs.

Waiting a few seconds for another wave of cultists to come storming up the staircase, Abraham found that the others must have been too busy with Wolf to care about them. The next target that came to mind were the mercenaries firing on their position, but as Abraham began thinking of how to get to the other wing of the school, an explosion caused the floor he stood on to suddenly crumble, causing him to fall to the ground floor of the school.

Breaking his fall by hitting the ground in a roll, Abraham immediately ran into another cultist which he backhanded a few feet back using Patriot's Will, accidentally. He took a moment to regain a sense of his surroundings before drawing Nightwither and looking for Drake and Nathan. He found that they weren't too far as they fought off the cultists as well as Ripper and Raider, while Trickshot provided fire from above.

Ripper had knocked Nathan to the ground with his tomahawks and was closing in for the killing blow, before Abraham stepped in a used his axe to parry the double-downward strike.

'Try picking a fight with someone your own size.' He said with a confident smirk as he kicked Ripper back a few feet. Ripper returned the smirk before he dissipated into a cloud of steam. A cloud that sped towards Abraham while he wondered what just happened. Out of the cloud, a hand wielding a tomahawk struck at him which he barely had time to dodge as he recognised that Ripper had used a Semblance.

_Some kind of Dissipation or Shrouding…_he wondered as he deflected another strike from the now-solid Ripper, subsequently using a free hand to fire a bolt at a stray cultist out of the corner of his vision with his Night Raven.

The two traded blows for a few seconds, Ripper using both his tomahawks as one weapon while Abraham tried to sweep out his legs using downward slashes from his Nightwither and sweep-kicks. Eventually, Ripper locked both his tomahawks around the shaft of Nightwither as they tried to push the other off. In a split-second, Ripper released his hold on one of the tomahawks before drawing a stiletto and plunging it into Abraham's side.

He grunted in pain as he kicked Ripper back, using the time to pull the knife out and divert some of his Aura to numb the pain. He was about to jump in for a counter attack before he realized that he was back-to-back with Nathan and Drake as they were now surrounded by cultists. As he realised this, the limp body of Wolf was hurled from the crowd to Abraham's feet.

Abraham was momentarily conflicted between offering Wolf a hand up or not, which was resolved as Wolf got up three seconds later.

'On my command, I will create a smokescreen for us to escape in. We then make a moving kill-circle until we get to the leader.' Drake ordered while they continued to get battered by bullets and other projectiles. Drake used his shield to protect himself while Nathan weaved between fire using his holograms, while Wolf and Abraham just took it or deflected it.

Drake's command never came through as a loud voice bellowed, 'Enough!' causing all the cultists to stop firing and the mercenaries to slowly back away, their weapons still warm and aimed at them.

The crowd parted to reveal Father Vicitor, looking worse for wear than he did earlier. Now, his hands were black and shaped like claws-much like Wolf's-and he had a gash across his left shoulder that quickly closed up.

His eyes were red and he bore his teeth as his breath came out in rasps, but it slowly subsided as his breathing became steadier and black wisps emanated from his hands as they began to look more Human.

'Where's that backup, again?' Nathan asked as he reloaded his pistols, ready for another fight.


	29. Chapter 25

FEAR part 2

**A/N: Honestly, I didn't expect this one bit of plot to draw out so long. Good thing I decided to split it then.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or any rights or shares to Rooster Teeth, and neither to the rest of the team on this project. God, how much darker from the get-go RWBY would be if we were in charge…**

Surrounded, outnumbered and outgunned. Those were the odds at the present moment for Sabre as he thought to himself; _An unconditional ceasefire is as good as being at point-blank with your hands tied behind your back._

_Out-skilled? With Raider on their side, it seems like a very likely possibility. _His thoughts were broken as Father Vicitor clapped his hands together and began speaking.

'You four have fought admirably.' He said, addressing Sabre and the others. 'But now, I feel that I must ask that you lower your weapons.' This time, he turned to the cultists, his voice remaining calm and kind. 'All of you.'

The tone of his voice held a certain level of authority as the cultists slowly lowered their long-swords and handguns. However, Sabre kept The Nightingale up, and so did the others.

'Father,' a girl robed in black with shoulder-length black hair approached Vicitor. '-what shall we do with them?' she asked as she brandished a dagger and glared at Sabre with her beady red eyes.

'Why reward them, of course!' he said in a more pleasant tone, confusing Sabre even further. The confusion seemed to be shared by the girl as well as the rest of the cultists, though they did it in a subtle manner-

Unlike Raider, 'Reward them? Are you insane-you know what, don't answer that.' He shouted in disbelief. 'Vicitor, these are the same Hunters that tried to stop us earlier.'

At that, Vicitor just chuckled. 'Oh Raider, I can assure you these men are not Hunters.' His stalwart gaze fixed onto Wolf. 'At least not all of them.'

'These men deserve to die for what they have done here today.' The girl spoke up, taking a single step forward before she abruptly stopped when Vicitor raised his hand.

'These men deserve to be rewarded today.' He said as he spread his arms, a zealous grin spreading across his face. 'For you see, they have brought the Prodigal Child back to us.'

Sabre's eyes widened in surprise under his mask as he turned to who he thought they were talking about. Wolf just growled in reply as Vicitor continued speaking.

'Truly, this is a sign from the Great One himself.' He turned to address the other cultists surrounding them. 'A sign that our work was not in vain, that our progress has not gone unnoticed! With each passing day, we get closer to awakening Solis Mortis and claiming the power to bend the will of the world. And now, The Child of The Eclipse has returned to help us achieve our destiny!'

The cultists that surrounded them suddenly burst into cheers, the atmosphere surrounding them having suddenly changed completely, though Sabre noticed that neither Raider nor his compatriots joined in the cheers, preferring to continue to glare at them. Continuing to wait for the right moment, Sabre never dropped his guard as Vicitor addressed them again.

'I told the others. I told them that you were not wasted, that we didn't waste our one chance! And now…' he took a moment to regain his composure as Vicitor's excitement seemed to have gotten the best of him. 'Come back to us, Child. Come, and we will be your pack.' He said before his voice suddenly rose as if he were speaking to someone ten meters away. 'Come, and we shall conquer the dark together!' he said as his fists clenched in his leather gloves. 'With you at our side, nothing can stop us!' he said, the last few words came from gritted teeth.

All was suddenly silent as everyone looked to Wolf, whose expression hadn't changed from the snarl it originally was. A few seconds passed before something happened that caught Sabre off guard for some reason, but he later realised that it was to be expected.

Wolf took a few steps forward slowly, getting a surprised glance from Abraham, his eyes darting from Wolf to Sabre while Nathan just gave it a quick look before returning his attention to the cultists surrounding them. Vicitor clapped his hands once in glee.

'Today, truly is a fortunate day for the Old Eclipse!' he said as Wolf took his place next to Vicitor, facing the others. _Oh, don't tell me we have to fight Wolf now. _He thought as he considered his odds. _Against this many odds I don't think we'll be able to get out of this alive, not even with the…hang on…_

That was when Sabre remembered the detonator on his belt.

And the bomb in Wolf's neck.

_This is the opportunity we need. At least, I hope it is. _He thought as Vicitor began speaking again in his oddly friendly tone. 'The hand I have offered the Child also extends to you, Hunters. Revoke your light, bow before me, and I will forgive you for all of your past sins.' _Typical cultist mentality._

Abraham looked like he was going to say something out of the corner of his vision, but he beat him to it. 'I don't work with cultists.' He said as he quickly drew the detonator, held it out like a gun and flicked open the cover with his thumb. He was just about to press it as he made the mistake of allowing his eyes to roam from Vicitor, for they met with the eyes of the girl.

The deep, red eyes of the girl seemed to pulse with shadows and grow bigger. They suddenly disappeared as he found himself in a black void, all by himself. He turned his attention back to the detonator, intent on blowing up Wolf whatever illusion the girl must have cast onto him, only to find his hand empty.

Then, he heard heavy footsteps in the darkness.

* * *

'Drake, what are you waiting for? Press the damn button!' Wolf heard Abraham say as the mercenary stood, frozen in place. Wolf couldn't see it because of the mask, but he could practically smell the fear emanating from the man. He also saw, as he watched closely, that the mercenary shook ever so slightly.

'He can't.' Vicitor replied as he gestured to the girl, an Arch-Sister by the looks of her. _How do I remember this? _Her eyes glowed red as she seemed to strain to maintain her stare, directed towards the mercenary.

Immediately, Abraham made a move to reach for the detonator, but the other mercenary-the one that Drake referred to as Ripper-quickly appeared at Abraham's side in a gust of fog with his weapon pressed against the Hunter's neck, causing him to freeze in place.

'Take another step. Go on, I dare you.' The mercenary challenged. Eventually, Abraham took a step backward and raised his hands, a gesture of surrender, if Wolf remembered correctly. Ripper stepped back then, but not before taking Abraham's axe and staff with him. His gaze then shifted to Nathan, who also raised his hands after shoving his guns into their holsters.

Not a moment later, the bounty hunter Raider sauntered up to Drake and snatched the device from his still-frozen hand. 'And what might this be?' he asked.

'The trigger for a weapon implanted in my neck.' Wolf answered, drawing a surprised look from Raider.

'Holy hell, that thing can speak?' he said in bemusement as he chuckled and looked back and forth between the other cultists as Ripper passed him Abraham's staff.

'You will show the Child of The Eclipse the same respect that you are entitled to show me.' The Arch-Sister said to him, more than a hint of anger in her voice.

'But he…' the bounty hunter looked to Vicitor, who gave him an even stare before he sighed. 'Fine, turn around so I can get it out.'

Wolf snarled before complying. Vicitor began speaking to the others again, but Wolf was too lost in thought as Raider cautiously approached him. He thought on Vicitor's words, and his chance at reconnecting with a pack that actually sought power. The opportunity was too good to pass up, even if it was with other Humans. _At least the darkness looms over them like a shadow._

He then felt a light slash across the back of his neck before he felt something being removed. Turning around to growl at Raider, he looked at the device that could have been his demise.

'Wow, I am so glad that didn't explode when I removed it.' He remarked as he seemed to try to estimate it's weight before he hurled it into the air. 'Trickshot, go long!' he shouted as the gun-wielding mercenary shot it without even looking at it. The explosion shook the grounds and some of the men in robes that were too close to the explosion shuddered and recoiled at the explosion.

This way, Wolf would be closer to his goal of defeating the Carvus Alpha, and exacting his revenge on The Pack. _Only the strongest will survive._

Only…he wasn't the strongest one here.

Wolf could smell the energy, the essence of fallen Grimm Alphas emanated from Father Vicitor. _He has bathed in their essence. From our quarrel earlier, I know that he has Claws, but what else? The stench of other Alpha's was too prominent to only have one row of Fangs._

No, there was no way that Wolf could simply take Vicitor's power alone. At least, not in this state. He would require the strength of the other Humans, the ones that called him ally, for with such tremendous power consolidated within one Human like Vicitor, there was no way that Wolf would grow more powerful than him under his rule.

It was a split-second decision that he released his sting and swept it in a wide arc. He knocked over the Arch-Sister and swept several cultists to the ground. However, as he was about to make a full circle, Father Vicitor caught the sting with a hand the size of an Ursa's paw.

Father Vicitor wore an expression of confusion as he tightened his grip on Wolf's sting. 'I don't understand, Child.' He said, his voice filled with genuine puzzlement. 'I offer you a new pack-a new home, and you refuse me as such?' he shouted the last few words as he twisted his grip, causing Wolf to involuntarily collapse to the floor on one knee in pain.

'If you will not join me, then you will join death!' Vicitor said as he formed a claw in his free hand and used it to sever Wolf's sting. Wolf howled in pain as what was left of his sting evaporated into black wisps to reveal his hand before Vicitor delivered a roundhouse kick to his jaw, sending him tumbling to where Nathan stood.

'Kill them all!'

* * *

Wolf's double-cross had been…unexpected at best, in Abraham's mind. But it worked in their favour.

The order had barely left Vicitor's mouth as an arrow zipped by Abraham and embedded itself in one of the cultists' shoulder. It was soon followed by a second one, which created a large wall of ice that separated DAWN from Vicitor and at least forty per cent of the cultists that surrounded them.

_Well, it's about time the backup arrived._

Abraham looked around for the source of the arrow before he spotted three people standing on top of the roof of the elementary school.

'What-' Nathan began, but Abraham cut him off.

'Backup's here, we can stop playing nice!' Abraham said as the cultists began firing and charging towards them. In a burst of Patriot's Will, Abraham sped in a wide arc in order to topple as many cultists as he could. No sooner had he stopped to catch his breath did he hear and feel a loud explosion that rippled across the courtyard, coming from the opposite direction to where they had infiltrated the compound. The explosion was followed by a loud, 'LEEEEEERRRROOOYYYYY! JOOHHNNSON!'

The attention of the cultists was split enough between the new arrivals and Nathan and Wolf-who quickly got to his feet and quickly re-joined the fight against the cultists, much to Abraham's confusion-that he had the opportunity to help Drake to his feet, who had collapsed to the ground after Wolf struck the girl in the back.

Turning him around so that he laid on his back, Abraham tried to pull Drake to his feet as he slowly regained consciousness.

'W-what? What happened?' he asked, quickly reaching up to pull of his mask and take in a deep breath of air.

'The girl paralyzed you or something.' Abraham explained as Drake gently shrugged off his help and balanced himself using his halberd.

'Right, right. I remember.' He said as he pulled out one of his shotguns and fired at a pair of cultists who charged them.

Seconds later, Drake's female associate, Nicole, leapt from the roof to their side while knocking out two more cultists with her bow. 'Drake, are you alright?' she said with an expression of what Abraham could only describe as genuine worry.

'Just a little-'

'Take care of him.' Abraham said as he turned around. 'I've got a score to settle.' In a matter of seconds, he rounded the ice wall to see Father Vicitor, Raider and Ripper-holding Nightwither in both hands-begin to fall back.

'Hey! Give me back my axe!' he shouted to Ripper, which instantly caught his attention the mercenary's attention.

'You want it?' he taunted before he threw the axe at Abraham in a horizontal swipe. Abraham swiftly spun in a semi-circle, which spun him into a crouch. As he sensed the Nightwither begin to pass over his head, he reached out to where he hoped the handle to be and caught it just as it was about to slip out of his grasp.

_That felt awesome. _Abraham thought as he righted himself to face Ripper with a smirk, resting the axe on his shoulder. 'I'd also like my staff back.' Which was still stuck to Raider's back along with his large double-scythe.

Raider looked to the two other mercenaries for a moment before they dispersed in a wide arc. After that, he drew Arboria in challenge as Trickshot aimed two submachine guns directly at his chest, as designated by the laser points that appeared.

'Come and get it.' He challenged as bullets rained down on the two of them from above. He was surprised as they were when the former-Judicator girl glided right over their heads, her skin glowing a gold-like yellow as she fired several more shots from her rifle.

That was all the distraction that Abraham needed as he put whatever strength he still had on a forward charge. With his axe drawn back, he managed to knock Trickshot to the ground before spinning to deliver a wide swipe across Raider's torso. However, the swipe met wood as Raider parried the strike.

He gave a confident smirk as he pressed his attack against Abraham, his fighting style resembling his own as they exchanged barely-deflected blows and just-dodged slashes. Unfortunately, Abraham fell for Raider's feign when he left a wide opening for him to deliver a horizontal slash. When he did, Raider quickly skipped backwards and out of his reach, before firing a single explosive round from the staff aimed towards Abraham's feet.

The blast blew him a few feet off the ground before he ungraciously landed face-first. He scrambled to get up, but Raider was already on top of him, his boot pressing into Abraham's back.

'Better luck next time, kid.' He said in his gravelly voice as he pressed the barrel of Arboria to Abraham's back, though he was suddenly blown off Abraham by a sniper round.

Abraham watched as Trickshot helped the mercenary to his feet as they both made a run for the exit, along with a few of the other cultists.

Abraham quickly got back up to his feet as Nathan and Drake approached him. 'They're getting away!' Nathan remarked.

'Not if I can help it.' Abraham said as he broke into a sprint, and then immediately tumbled to the floor in pain.

'Abe, what's wrong?' he heard Nathan shout.

The pain of the earlier wound Ripper hand delivered with his stiletto was finally catching up to him, and it hurt. No sooner did the other Hunter-in-training on Team NCKL with an eye-patch approach him to examine his wound.

'Ok, this looks like a pretty standard flesh wound.' He analysed. 'If you'll allow me, I can stop the bleeding and the pain for a while longer.'

Abraham simply gave him a nod as he stood back up and adjusted the dial on what looked like a defibrillator that was connected by a cable to a backpack. The end of the defibrillator suddenly sprang open like a flower and a blue energy began surging between the four nodes before surging into Abraham.

At first, the electricity hurt, as expected, but it soon subsided into a pleasant numbness. In a matter of seconds, it was over and there was no more pain. He checked the wound himself to find that it not completely healed, but at least clotted and was no longer bleeding.

'How did you do that?' Abraham asked, bewildered yet again that day.

The brunette gestured to his two weapons. 'They can send out a surge of electricity that causes cells to replicate faster as well as pump a numbing agent of my own concoction into your body. I could go on about the science behind it but…'

'Thanks anyway, chap.' He asked as he held his hand up to be pulled to his feet. 'And you would be…?'

'Cody.' He said with a grin as he helped Abraham to his feet. 'Resident medic of Team NCKL.'

'Skip the pleasantries.' Drake said as he approached, removing his mask yet again. 'Did we lose them?'

'Oh, hold on!' Nicole exclaimed as she pointed to a golden body slowly descending from the roof of the school. 'My fellow scout has returned.'

She landed with soft footfalls as her glow slowly faded and she shook her head solemnly. They got away.

_They got away, with Arboria! _Abraham realised as he quickly sprung to his feet. 'We've got to go after them!' he exclaimed, before everyone was covering their ear to listen to Ozpin's voice, himself included.

'No, Abraham. You, the rest of your team and Team NCKL are to return to Beacon. An airship is already closing in on your position.'

'But they got my staff!' he whined. He didn't want to sound like he was whining, but the staff was one of the few things that he had to prove to Ozpin that he was worth all the trouble he caused, and now he had lost it.

'I don't want to hear it, just return to Beacon, now. We'll discuss this in depth then.' He said with an air of finality before closing the communication.

Abraham struggled to control his frustration as he took in the current situation. Luckily, no one else seemed to have been hurt too badly, and they still had Wolf, for another day at least. Though, under what circumstances they had him were still up to debate as he stood, panting amongst a pile of corpses.

Eventually, a build-up of frustration in Abraham manifested itself, as he turned around and plunged his axe into the ground with a loud, 'Bloody hell!' through clenched teeth.

* * *

Nathan was good at picking things up, information and cute girls alike. This meant that he was able to pick up a lot of information on the ride back to Beacon. He loved information, as it often gave him the upper hand in most situations. He picked up on quite a few things to help made sense about what the hell happened back at that elementary school.

The first thing he actually picked up on, was how much the Judicator girl hated Wolf. Kanary, as he'd learned, had the personal pleasure-it seemed-to have been allowed to force Wolf into the airship with the sharp end of her spear-rifle.

The other thing that he learned was that she was a mute, as she stated by giving him a rude finger-gesture when he had tried to compliment her on how soft her hair looked. According to the other members of her team, she had lost her ability to speak during their last attempt at a breakout.

He guessed that she blamed him and Drake almost half as much as she blamed Wolf, which was the only probable explanation as to why he got such a negative response.

_I can't be losing my touch, right?_ He thought as he noticed how distraught his leader looked as the door to the airship hissed shut.

'Hey, Drake, you alright?' he asked as he thought for a second about putting his hand on Drake's shoulder, but thought against it.

His eyes slowly turned to him with a hollow expression. 'That girl.' He started after a moment, drawing everyone's attention. 'She…how long was I out, or frozen?' he asked, seeming unsure of what to say or how to say it.

'Not that long. Something like less than two minutes.' Nathan said as he watched Drake pass his mask in between his hands. 'What happened?'

He responded immediately. 'When I looked into her eyes, I was plunged into a dark void. It must have been some kind of Petrification Semblance.' He paused for a moment, but everyone knew there was more to it. 'Not long after, I heard footsteps approaching. Then,' another pause. '-a Huntsman attacked me with inhuman strength and speed. I…I knew the Huntsman from before.'

This time, it was Abraham who spoke up. 'Who was he?'

Drake stayed silent for several seconds, but after Nicole put her hand on his knee and gave him a reassuring look, he continued. 'He was my father. He was my father and I couldn't bring myself to kill him.'

Nathan let out a sigh, knowing where Drake's convictions were coming from. 'So, she can make us see things and freeze in place, big deal. We know thanks to Wolf that she can't keep it up unless she maintains eye-contact.' Nathan said, trying to look at the positive side of this.

'Her name is Arch-Sister Emily.' Wolf said, from his restrained corner of the airship. Kanary slowly made a move for her rifle, but stopped when Nicole put a hand on her shoulder.

'What do you mean, "Arch-Sister"?' asked Drake.

Wolf did not continue beyond that, and Nathan decided to use his mouth before someone used their blade. 'It makes sense, I mean, they did call Vicitor "Father", which would make her a "Sister". We are dealing with a religious cult after all.' He reasoned.

The rest of the flight back was quite silent, and a little too short for Nathan. As soon as they touched down, there was a host of Protectors led by Rachel and Horizon, ready to escort them to Ozpin.

'Hey, Rachel.' Abraham said as the Protectors rushed in to release Wolf and bind him to be escorted.

'Y'know, I'm starting to really think that you don't work well with others.' Rachel commented as they were marched along. 'Not you, Team NCKL. You are to report back to your dorms, you will be debriefed first thing in the morning.' She instructed, getting a firm nod from Nicole as she gave a timid wave to Drake, which he didn't even seem to notice.

'Gee, what was your first clue?' Abraham said, the usual fire in his tone now gone.

'What's you so bummed out? You aren't the one escorting two criminals, a monster and Abraham.'

'I don't know what's worse; explaining why we failed to Ozpin again, or losing my staff.'

'Oh, cry me a-wait, you lost your staff?' Rachel suddenly gasped in shock. Continuing without saying anything, Rachel took Abraham's silence as her answer. 'Ozpin's not going to be too happy you broke one of his biggest rules.'

She stopped right outside the elevator to Ozpin's office, along with the rest of their guards. 'It's just supposed to be you four. I trust you can handle Wolf.'

'We'll be fine, but thanks for the concern.' Nathan said as he straightened his suit.

'I wasn't talking to you.' Rachel said in a singsong voice. As the doors began to close, Rachel gave Abraham one last sympathetic 'I'm sorry.'

That led to the present, which involved Glynda Goodwitch yelling at them and suggesting very serious reprimands to Ozpin.

'You four had one job, and you failed it twice, along with the lost lives of the hostages and several Judicators. We're starting to believe that you four together are more trouble than you're worth.' The whole time, Ozpin just stared with a stern look. Nathan couldn't tell who he was staring at, but he knew it didn't matter.

'Glynda, please-' Abraham began, but he was cut off.

'I'll be honest, Mr Linkin. I thought that with you on this team, that it would increase its success rate phenomenally, but as it is, you not only failed the mission, you also lost one of your weapons, which violates one of the very first lessons I taught you!' she finished, only slightly out of breath.

Luckily, as she was about to continue, Ozpin intervened. 'Glynda, I think it's only right if we give Abraham a turn to speak. He does seem like he has something important to tell us.'

'Thank you, sir.' Abraham started, not missing a beat. 'I just want to begin with…I'm very sorry I lost Arboria. I know you emphasise on never losing my weapon.' He paused, looking for Ozpin's approval to continue before he did. 'But what we encountered was not what we expected at all. You said that they were a small group of cultists, but what we encountered was not small, and some of the "cultists" seemed more like they've had special operatives training. L-look, Drake can vouch for me.' He said as he turned to Drake expectantly.

Drake sighed once before continuing. 'It's true. Whoever they are, they have resources. Lots of resources. If they were able to hire not only Raider, but two other infamously wanted mercenaries, they must have one hell of a budget. What Abraham says is true as some of their equipment is top of the line, and that some of them know how to use it.'

'Ozpin, we have to continue going after them. Whoever they are-whatever they are, they have big goals in mind, I just know it. Their leader, Father Vicitor kept going on about some religious transcendence and something called Solis Mortis. I know it sounds crazy but-'

'Wait, what did you say?' Ozpin asked, suddenly very alert and very attentive.

'Ozpin, all I'm asking for is one more chance to prove that I-' Abraham rambled before he was cut off again.

'Before that; what did Vicitor say the cult was after?' Ozpin asked, practically leaning over his desk in order to get closer to them.

'Wait, how-he was going on about some transcendence to power and Solis Mortis.' Abraham said as he eyed Ozpin suspiciously.

_Ozpin knows more than he's letting on. _'They also said something about some…thing their looking for called the Map Stone.' Drake explained, causing Glynda's eyes to go wide in…surprise?

There was a tense feeling in the air as Nathan waited for some kind of response-anything! Even Glynda yelling at them some more would be better than the silence that followed as Glynda and Ozpin shared shocked expressions.

'Ozpin, what's wrong? I don't understand.' Abraham asked, taking a single step forward. 'Do you know Father Vicitor?'

Ozpin's eyes flicked between Glynda and Abraham before he settled back into his chair and tapped a communicator. 'Rachel, I'm sending them down to you. Make sure that they get back to Detention Block Five.' He said before closing the communicator, not waiting for a reply. 'Drake, I want you to make sure that you and the rest of DAWN make it back to Block Five.'

'Ozpin, please! If there's more to this, I want to know.' Abraham pleaded. _He actually pleaded!_

'Right now, I want to confirm my suspicions before jumping to any conclusions too soon. It's been a long day, Abraham. You should get some rest.' Ozpin said as he interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them.

'But-'

'Please.' He said in a calm, steady voice, which caused Abraham to take a step backwards, his face registering conflict before it settled on a calmer demeanour.

'Let's go.' Drake said as they headed towards the elevator, Wolf in tow. Nathan saw Abraham spare Ozpin one last glance before they entered the elevator and the doors slid shut.

Three seconds into their descent, Drake spoke up. 'Abraham.' It instantly caught everyone's attention, except for Wolf. 'We'll get your staff back. I'll make sure of it.'

The purpose of the statement surprised both Abraham and Nathan as they exchanged glances as to what brought this from their solemn leader.

'Uh, thanks.' Abraham replied, unsure of how to respond.

* * *

Glynda paced back and forth in a circle as the clockwork in Ozpin's office turned, a constant reminder that time goes on no matter the circumstance. Admittedly, Ozpin would have found Glynda's worried state quite adorable if it were under different circumstances.

'Do you still believe that they aren't the Warriors of Dawn?' he asked her as he traced his thumb around the rim of his coffee mug.

She stopped in her pacing to face him. 'It's too soon.'

'Time was never on our side. "He" proved that again and again.' He said as he began typing things into the glass computer in his table.

'What do we do then?' she asked as she approached.

He paused in the middle of a sentence he was writing to consider all their options before he spoke again. 'We get as ready as we can for when the time comes.' He said as he passed Glynda his half-empty coffee mug. 'Check all our assets. Make sure that we have a strong enough force for when Solis Mortis returns.'

She accepted the mug with both hands before downing the entire thing at once. She let out a sigh before a light grin crossed her face. 'I'll go get more. It's going to be a long night.'

_It's going to be an even longer Dawn. _He thought to himself as Glynda walked away.


	30. Chapter 26

**A Special Message: One year ago today, Monty Oum, creator of RWBY and the reason this story exists, passed away. Monty Oum was an artist, a friend to many and a God of his own worlds. It's funny because I watched Monty's Halo/Metroid fight animation way before I knew RWBY, but I didn't see it as anything more than the clever animations of a (probably) Japanese animator. I was quite amazed when I eventually found out, but then I thought, "It wasn't that unexpected. I mean, with all his mostly-girl fight animations, why not make an anime about a team of butt-kicking monster-hunting adorable girls?"**

**Even though Monty is gone now, I believe that he still lives on with us. Not in our memories or in the work he has done, but the work he has inspired the fans and Rooster Teeth to make and continue making. He is the reason I'm writing this message at this very moment. He was the artist that sparked this imagination in my mind, and has connected me to friends in distant countries. And I feel that it's safe to say that many other fanfic. writers or artists feel the same way. Even though we don't talk much, we always find time to share our thoughts on the new episodes of RWBY that come out each week. RWBY keeps me and my friends even more connected than we would be without it, and I am grateful for that.**

**I'm not sure what the future holds for Rooster Teeth and RWBY, but I don't care if the majority of the human populace does not know Monty's name or RWBY fifty years from now. All that matters is that I do, and I will continue this story in his honor, and I know dozens of fans around the world feel the same way.**

**And maybe someday, when my work is done in life, I'll get the chance to meet him, shake his hand, and tell him what an inspiration he has been to me. As well as force him to read my story and give me his critique. If I could say one thing to Oum right now, it would be, "Thank you, and let me take the reins from here."**

**Sorry this message was so drawn out; I just needed to express my feelings a little. It's what keeps me sane.**

**Anyway, I promised Summer Rose and Co. and you're getting Summer Rose and Co.**

The STRQ Contrast

Just barely breaking away from the others without looking too suspicious, Nicole began a slow pace around the mess hall at Beacon, in search of Drake or Nathan-preferably Drake.

She actually wasn't sure whether or not that he would be let out today, but she was going to continue walking while acting like she wasn't waiting for someone for five minutes just to be sure.

_If he doesn't turn up, I'll just tell the others I needed to take a tinkle or something. No no no, that sounds too quick to just brush over. I'll tell them I left something back in the room. Yeah, that'll work. _She thought as she took a seat on a bench which she thought had a good vantage point. _Though, I don't feel good about lying to them…_

She had just begun contemplating why she was feeling this way when she spotted a black hooded figure at the rear end of a crowd of students heading towards the hall as well.

Thinking she could wonder why another time, she got back on her feet, eager to speak with Drake. _It's strange how just the thought of having a casual conversation with Drake puts me on edge. Or, well whatever the hell we consider "casual"._

She approached Drake at a slow creep, making sure to keep out of his field of vision in order to finally pull off what she's been trying to do for weeks. _He looks distracted. This may be my only chance. _She thought as she was barely a meter away from him, when she suddenly rushed forward and pulled his shoulders down slightly.

'Gah!' she half-shouted before bursting into giggles as she noticed Drake stiffen at the action, before relaxing upon realisation of who it was.

'It's good to see you too, Nicole.' He said after taking releasing a big sigh.

'Did I scare you that time?' she asked as she skipped in front of him, stopping his advance.

He took in a deep breath before replying. 'Yes, you actually did.' He said, while not directly looking at her. 'I've been on edge since that cultist, Arch-Sister whatever trapped me in that nightmare.'

Deciding to joke about a bit more, Nicole gently nudged him in the side. 'I have to say, I didn't like the way she was looking at you.'

He turned to face her as a small grin appeared. 'That's not funny.' his grin betraying his serious tone.

'Come on, that was a good one.' She whined, flailing her arms for dramatic effect.

'Not really.' Said Nathan, who had been standing there the whole time and not really saying anything.

'Anyway, how goes the "escape plan"?' she asked, whispering the last part.

'How many codes have you been able to crack?' he asked her in return, reaching in between his robes to show her the device he was working on.

_It actually looks like it does something, though I have doubts about whether it'll explode when he tries. _'Quite a few actually, though none of them useful. I just did them for practice.' Nicole said as she joined them on their way to the mess hall, trying to act inconspicuous.

'Did you get the one for an airship?' he asked as they slowed to a stop in front of the doors to the mess hall.

'No. Well, not yet.' She said as she cocked her head to the side. 'It's not very easy, y'know.'

'Well what about the codes to the elevator to the Detention Area?'

'Ugh, I haven't even been able to get close-'

'Then stop complaining and don't get back to me until you have results.' He said as he put his hand to the door to push it open.

The words hurt, and Nicole was sure that the pain she was feeling on the inside was visible on her face. _I'm really trying my hardest. I'd just wished that you'd see that._

She paused in her thoughts when she realised that Drake hadn't moved from his position.

'That's a little harsh, man.' Nathan remarked as he folded his arms.

Drake looked away for a moment before he turned back to Nicole, letting his hand drop from the door to his side. 'Look, Nicole.' He started, his expression having dropped to something akin to crestfallen as he pulled down his hood. 'I didn't…I'm putting a lot of trust onto you to get this right. If things aren't the way they should be, then there's a good chance that one of us won't make it out. You have the freedom and wit to pull this off, I know you do. I just want to make sure…that we both get out of this in one piece.' He ended in a whisper.

The apology meant worlds to Nicole. Having spent long enough with him to know that he wasn't big on apologies and never actually said 'I'm sorry' once had taught her that when he did apologize, it was genuine. She did wish that he was more open with how he felt at times, but she had still fallen for this version of Drake.

She turned away for a moment the smile that crept across her face could properly form before turning back to face him. 'I'll try my hardest.'

_I'll try my hardest not to let you down._

He gave her a stern nod before turning back to the door in front of them and pushing it open, holding it open for both Nathan and her.

'Come on, my team's just over-' she got out, before a cheery, chirpy voice cut her off.

'Nicole, over here!' she turned to see the familiar face waving her over with both hands, draped in what she was sure was her trademark white cloak. 'We saved you a spot!' she shouted over the heads of at least a dozen other students in the mess hall, pointing with both hands to the empty spot on the long table where both her team and the team of the cloaked girl sat.

* * *

Before he knew what was happening, Drake was being viciously dragged by the arm by Nicole.

'Come on, Drake. I want you to meet someone.' She said with a massive grin. 'She's super cool and her teammates are awesome!'

Drake sighed as he decided to put up with Nicole's shenanigans for a change. They could be silly, yes, but given the position he was in, he had no better alternative at the moment. And frankly, he was beginning to enjoy her antics. Slightly.

She pulled him over to a table where her team sat with another. 'Morning, Summer. I've got someone I want you to meet.' She said to the girl wearing a long white cloak that nearly reached the floor.

Nicole stood in between the two as Summer's eyes ran up and down Drake as she eyed him with suspicion…or at least that's what he thought the look meant.

'Summer,' she gestured in between the two with both hands. '-meet Drake. Drake, meet Summer.'

'Uh, good morning.' He decided to say after a few seconds passing, everyone on the table looking on expectantly. He kept a calm demeanour and tried not to act uncomfortable.

'Hello.' Summer suddenly said, sticking out one hand for Drake to shake. 'It's nice to meet the guy Nicole keeps going on about.'

Drake reluctantly reached out to shake her hand. 'What has she told you about me?' he asked, picking around his words carefully.

'That you don't like it when she tells people about you.' Summer replied with a squeaky giggle.

Nicole laughed sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head when Drake turned towards her. 'At least I didn't tell them anything incriminating.'

'No, but she did tell us that you were a mercenary, and that you both landed in here after trying to escape capture by the Beacon guards.' one of the members of Summer's team spoke up. He had black hair and a straight-cut cape.

'Yeah, the full version's way longer.' Nathan remarked as he came back from getting a carton of apple juice.

'Noted.' He said to Nathan before turning back to Drake. 'Name's Qrow. This is my sister.' He said as he gestured to the black haired girl sitting next to him at the end of the table.

'Raven.' She said with a wave. 'Pleasure to meet you.' She said, though the words didn't carry the energy they would if she really meant them. 'Who's the Tux?' she asked as she pointed to Nathan.

'Grey. Nathan Grey.' He said as he sat down opposite her at the table. 'To what do I owe the pleasure of talking to such a beautiful girl?' The statement earned him a scowl from Qrow and caused Raven to lean backwards away with a sceptical look on her face.

'Ignore him.' Drake said with a wave of his hand. 'He's just trying to get into your shorts for one night.'

Nathan sent him a glare. 'Don't interrupt while I'm flirting. And since when did you play the cock-block?'

'I'm just trying to make sure we don't make too many enemies while we're here.'

'Well I think he made himself a friend.' Said the blonde haired boy that had sat quietly up until now. 'Name's Taiyang Xiao Long.' He said as he reached out to shake Nathan's hand.

'That's one mouthful of a name you got.' Nathan said with a light laugh.

'Then call me Tai.' He said as he leaned forward on his elbows. 'You wanna go flirt with the girls on the opposite table?'

Nathan turned around and noticed the table opposite them was full of Huntresses-in-Training. When Drake followed Nathan's gaze, he immediately regret it as a light blush crept its way on his face, making a mental note to never attempt that again.

'Sure, maybe you'll learn a thing or two from the master.' Nathan boasted.

'Funny, I was thinking the same thing.' Taiyang replied as he bounded over the table, startling the members of Team NCKL and earning him a 'Watch it, hooshow!' when he almost spilled Leroy's bowl of gravy.

_Seriously? Gravy? _'Sounds interesting.' Qrow mumbled, turning to Raven. 'Mind if I join? You won't get too lonely, will you?'

She rolled her eyes before replying. 'Sure, but you're just proving my stereotype about boys!' she shouted back to him, though Qrow seemed like he had stopped listening past 'Sure'.

'Oh, I'm gonna go get something to eat.' Nicole chirped before turning to Drake. 'Want anything?'

Drake took a quick glance to the long lunch line and tried to make out what they were serving today. 'Just get me one of the muffins, or grain-cakes…whatever they are.'

'Hmmm…Another!' Leroy suddenly shouted, throwing his chicken bone on the floor. Kanary gave Nicole the hand signal for water and Nicole just nodded in acknowledgement.

_When did she learn to speak sign? _Drake wondered in curious astonishment as she ran off.

'She's pretty cool for someone who's being forced to stay here.' Summer said, the statement directed to Drake as she turned away from her half a dozen cookies.

Drake shrugged his shoulder. 'She's always been a positive person.' _Sometimes unnecessarily so. _He thought to himself.

'I thought it had to do with the fact that Beacon is such a cool place!' Summer suddenly squealed in excitement. 'Which brings me to my next point.' She said as she pat the empty seat next to her on the bench.

Drake politely refused with the wave of his hand, earning more curious looks from Summer before she continued. 'Alright, fine. Nicole says that you're a nice person, despite your background, and I want to believe her.' Summer said, the serious expression never changing. 'But I'm warning you first; If I catch you doing anything bad or evil-ish, I'm gonna kick your butt, capiche?'

'Evil-ish?'

'Capiche?' she repeated, practically standing on her tiptoes to try to match Drake's height.

With a sigh, he repeated, 'Capiche.' The girl's mood changed instantly, from serious to friendly.

'Ok, I trust you!' he chuckled a little at the childish nature of the statement.

'You shouldn't be so open with your trust, even if the person you're giving it to is telling the truth.' Drake said to no one in particular.

'Why's that? If they're being truthful, doesn't that give cause to trust the person?' Cody asked, resting his head on one arm.

'It does,' Drake began. '-but you should never give anyone your complete trust. No matter how close you are to them, or how loyal they are to you, some things are better left secret.' He adverted his eye from those that were watching him closely. 'Lest you let others know of your vulnerabilities.' He murmured under his breath.

'I can understand that.' Raven said as she swung her long black hair over her shoulder and onto the other.

'It's so much simpler just to trust or not trust someone.' Summer argued. 'All this keeping-certain-things-from-certain-people stuff is complicated.'

'Life's rarely black and white, Summer.' Cody said as he poked at a baked potato. 'Sometimes you just have to lie to some people to protect them. I've seen enough examples to know that even if the truth can heal, it can also cause pain.'

An awkward silence fell on the table for a moment, until Nathan was hurled across it. Kanary had the instinct to move her tray just as Nathan's limp body slid across it, while he knocked over Leroy and Cody's tray.

* * *

'That's it!' Leroy shouted, catching Abraham's attention as he was halfway through an apple. Looking over to where the noises were coming from, he spotted both of his team members, one of them apparently in a tight spot.

_Oh, bugger. _He thought, walking over and waving his hands at some of the students who took interest in the imminent tussle. 'Nothing to see here, please sit back down.'

With a sigh he watched as Leroy pinned Nathan against the wall. 'Come now, use your inside voice, Leroy.' Nicole tried to calm the brunette down.

'I'm gonna use my shotgun-voice!' Leroy said as he fought against Nicole and Cody's attempts to pry him off Nathan.

'What did he do this time?' Abraham asked Drake, who seemed to be watching the scene unfold, not making any moves to try to defuse the situation.

'He knocked over Leroy's chicken.' Drake said in a nonchalant tone as he bit into what looked like a muffin.

'After flying a few feet when that bear Faunus back there caught him hitting on his girl.' Abraham heard a familiar voice say. Turning around with a smile, he clasped hands with Taiyang.

'Good to see you again, Tai. I see you survived initiation.' Abraham said with a chuckle.

'Was there any doubt? Y'know what, don't answer that.' He turned to face Nathan as he quickly hid behind Abraham for cover from Leroy as Nicole seemed to be trying breathing exercises with him. 'This your teammate?'

'Regrettably so.' Abraham replied, getting an annoyed look from Nathan. 'I see you three are already acquainted.'

'Fairly so.' Drake said as he crumpled the wrapping of his muffin into a ball. 'Do you know them?' he asked, gesturing towards the team sitting opposite Team NCKL.

'Only Taiyang.' He said as he put his hand on the blonde's shoulder. 'He and I hang out every second Sunday of the month to go trekking through Forever Falls.'

'Caught this guy when he almost fell off a cliff…literally.'

'I would've survived the fall.'

'I guess you can say that it must have been a real "cliff-hanger".' He said with a wink, getting a shake of the head from Abraham. 'Still, you should really get to know the rest of my team some time.'

'I'll be sure to clear a space in my schedule for it.' He said as Leroy came charging over.

'Alright, I'll let you off this one time.' He warned Nathan, who shrunk back further behind Abraham. 'But you gotta pay me in the hot, buttery goodness that is a deep-fried chicken. In fact, I want two deep-fried buttery chickens.'

Nathan then stood up to his full height and cleared his throat. 'I'll…get back to you with that as soon as I can.'

'How about sooner?'

'That can be arranged.' He murmured.

'Done! All is forgiven.' Leroy shouted as he raised his hands.

'Well,' Taiyang began as he clapped his hands together. 'Now that that's out of the way, how about I introduce you to my team?' he asked Abraham. It wasn't long before he was acquainted with the rest of Taiyang's team, which caused Summer to ask them a question.

'What about your fourth member?'

'Huh?' Abraham asked, not understanding the question.

'The fourth member of your team. Is he hiding somewhere?' she asked as she put her hand over her eyes and scanned the crowds.

'No.' he confessed with a sigh. _Should have planned for this. _'He's not there, and I don't think he's someone you'd like to meet.'

'Why's that?' Qrow asked, as he noticed the rest of Team NCKL shrink back slightly.

'Well…Wolf isn't exactly your average guy.' Nathan tried to explain, evidently feeling awkward about the situation. _That's a first._

'Wolf is half-Grimm murdering monstrosity.' Leroy explained bluntly, getting a shocked expression from Summer, as well as the rest of Team STRQ before she burst into laughter.

'That's a good one.' She said in between breaths, until she realised that the rest of DAWN kept their serious expressions. 'You're joking, right?'

'I wish.' Murmured Abraham as he discarded what was left of his apple.

'Oh.' Summer said as she looked down at her boots for a few moments. 'That…actually sounds pretty cool!'

'Trust me; it's not.' Abraham waved off. 'And to top it off, I'm stuck with these two as well.'

'Hey, I'm not that bad.' Nathan argued.

'Yeah? Well, all I got was the Branwen duo back there.' She said as she pointed her thumb at where Raven and Qrow sat.

'I'm going to take that as an insult!' Raven hollered.

'What about me?' Taiyang asked, looking dumbfound. 'What am I, chopped liver?'

'Oh, yeah. The guy I spent up a tree with during initiation for the night.' Summer sneered, narrowing her eyes in mockery.

'There were a lot of Beowolves that night.' He argued, and they continued to bicker on for a few minutes.

'Interesting team.' Drake remarked to Abraham as they slowly backed away from the two, who were drawing a bigger crowd than either of them apparently preferred.

'I think she likes him.' Abraham assessed with a smirk.

Yes, Team STRQ. _I have a feeling that we're going to see them more often. And if not, I might as well make a few more friends._


	31. Chapter 27

**A/N: I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell everyone reading this story how much the Editorial and I appreciate your support, and how much I appreciate the Editorial. I wouldn't have gotten as far or as complex of a story as I have now without them. This story, and the sequels to come is all because of them and they should be given more credit than I.**

Spread The Word

Climbing down from his surprisingly-well constructed tree-house in the Emerald Forest, Abraham donned his freshly-polished top hat as he began his journey back to Beacon Academy. It had only been two days, but Abraham was practically twitching to get back into the action and find Arboria, before the Old Eclipse decided to burn it for tinder or something .

_I mean, it is quite sturdy,__ and essentially fire-proof, but I'd feel better if it weren't in the hands of some deranged cult. _He heard a familiar squawking from the treetops just then, and knew that his loyal friend had returned. _Luckily, I have a man on the job to find it._

He extended his arm as Doombeak landed on it in place of where he would have landed if he still had Arboria.

_Any luck, my friend? _

_Unfortunately not._ The bird said with the shake of his head. _I have flown across Vale in search of the Totem, but I have not seen even the slightest hint of it._

Abraham verbally sighed. _Keep trying. It has to be out there somewhere._

_Abraham, I do apologize for not being by your side when you lost Arboria. As your companion, it was my duty to-_

_It wasn't your fault. Just be there for me next time, ok?_

Doombeak cried out twice and flapped his wings, his gratitude apparent.

'Do you have to be somewhere anytime soon?' Abraham asked him. 'I mean, it's early so I thought we could get a bit of a morning walk while the air is still a tad chilly.'

_I suppose so. Are we headed back to Beacon? _He asked as he hopped from Abraham's forearm to his shoulder.

'Afraid so.' Abraham said as he began walking along the familiar path to Beacon. 'The forest is still teaming with Grimm, even if we are on the outskirts.'

They then began their journey to the winding pathway that led up the cliff to Beacon grounds. Although, it was mostly Abraham walking the whole time while Doombeak rested on his shoulder as the pesky bid had made the point that he had been flying for most of the night without rest.

_So, how are you as far as cooperating with your new team is concerned? _Doombeak asked out of nowhere as they reached the top of the path and started on the straight stone path back to the school.

_Well, they're not the easiest bunch to deal with, I can tell you that. _He said as he let out a sarcastic chuckle.

_I could tell the moment I saw them. _Doombeak replied as he and Abraham set about the path that would lead them to the courtyards of Beacon.

_They are definitely not the type to be trusted. _He thought as he stopped for a moment to sigh as he looked to the rising sun as it bathed the Emerald forest and the city of Vale in a beautiful morning-orange glow.

_Have you asked your Professor Ozpin to reconsider keeping them around?_

_Believe me, I'm pretty sure Glynda's going to find a way to have them all sent off to a prison or an execution sooner or later._

_I never liked the company of that female. _Doombeak said, his phrasing causing Abraham to chuckle slightly. _Something about her Aura is simply too…woeful._

'Oh, my friend. Your phrasing never ceases to amuse me.' Abraham said with the shake of his head. 'But I understand what you mean. It truly seems that nothing pleases that woman.' He paused to consider several of the times that Glynda had scolded him. 'But, she does not worry without reason.'

_The worry that weighs on her Soul is unlike that of many I have encountered. Do you want to know what I believe?_

The question struck Abraham as he was not used to Doombeak having an opinion in matters. Often, the bird would listen in silence as Abraham would go on. However, Abraham did enjoy a second opinion... now and then. 'Of course I want to know.'

_I believe that Glynda Goodwitch is concerned for the students that she teaches, yes, as a maternal bird would take care of its young. However, I sense a deeper worry. Something akin to a maternal bird that feels worry to every other chick and egg, even its own. _Abraham thought on the words himself for a while, considering how Doombeak wasn't wrong, but not exactly right, either. _Anyway, I am still learning about your Human society, so maybe my interpretation is inaccurate._

'No, no. I think it's quite-' Abraham was about to finish her sentence when he heard a commotion from across the courtyard. He turned to see a young Faunus wearing a fedora hat getting knocked over into the fountain by a boy in a Beacon Academy uniform.

'Hold that thought.' He mumbled as he approached the two, the anger within him bubbling as his face turned to a scowl.

'Next time, look where you're going.' The Human boy said as he spat on the downed Faunus. 'Animal!'

Abraham was barely three meters from the fountain when he had just heard about enough out of the student. 'Excuse me!' he shouted. 'What do you think you're doing?'

The student turned around, but he wasn't too startled by Abraham's appearance, choosing instead to immediately continue snarling at the Faunus. 'C'mon, you can help me put this mutt in its place.' He said as he grabbed the Faunus by the collar of his overcoat and pulled him out of the fountain and onto the stone path.

_That's it! _Abraham thought as he grabbed the student by the collar and threw him over his shoulder. 'How about I put you in your place?' Abraham shouted while Doombeak squawked at the boy.

'What's your deal man?' the boy said as he rubbed his sore shoulder. 'It's a filthy Faunus.'

_This guy really has no clue. _'"He" is a person just like any other Human.' Abraham said as he picked the boy up by the collar, even though the boy was taller than him by at least nine centimetres. 'Now you listen here.' He said through gritted teeth. 'If I ever catch you abusing this one here or any other, I'll have you expelled from Beacon.'

'You can't do that, you're just a student.' The boy replied, sizing up to Abraham's threats. Although, there was a hint of doubt in the boy's voice, his facial expressions registering the faint traces of fear. A hint of doubt was all Abraham needed to get his point across.

'I'm more than you can imagine.' Abraham threatened with a sarcastic laugh as he threw the boy backwards with enough force to make him stumble to the ground. 'You don't deserve to wear that uniform. '

He watched as the student scrambled to his feet before running off, giving Abraham one last dirty look before disappearing behind the column-like structure of Beacon's architecture. Abraham let out a sigh to vent his anger, before turning around to address the Faunus.

'Are you ok?' he asked as he picked the boy's fedora out of the fountain and shook it to dry off some of the water. He watched as the Faunus picked up several sheets of papers and strewn about books-most of them wet, before he offered the boy his fedora. Without it, he could clearly see a pair of droopy brown ears, like those of a Beagle.

The Faunus said nothing for a moment before hastily snatching the hat from Abraham's grasp and running off in the opposite direction of the bully.

_In the wild, I had never known such prejudice amongst men. _Doombeak said as he and Abraham watched the Faunus run, his path taking him to the dormitories. _I don't think I would have ever learned as much as I did were it not for you._

Abraham sighed, thinking on many of the other occasions where he had seen other Faunuses getting harassed or times when he decided to step in, not all of them ending as they had today. 'Well, like I said, it's complicated.'

It was then that Abraham heard a set of light applause. He turned around to see a girl with platinum-blonde hair, clapping her hands vigorously with a wide smile on his face.

Doombeak followed his gaze to the girl. _Ah, the mercenary's female companion._

'I don't think either of them call her that.' Abraham said as he began approaching her.

'Nice job at handling that guy.' Nicole said as she stopped clapping.

'Well, nothing starts your day off like thrashing a racist simpleton about.' Abraham said with a chuckle.

Her smile faded as her hands fell to her sides. 'It's too bad huh?' Abraham was about to ask her what she meant, but she continued. 'I really don't see what some people have against the Faunus. I honestly think they're super cool.' She said with a slight twinkle in her eyes.

Abraham sighed, being able to relate to what she said. 'Believe me, I've been helping Faunus left and right, but there always seems to be another thug out there with a grudge against them. The worst part of it all is that the worst of the lot are in high places.'

'Uh, I know what you mean. I come from nobility myself, and my parents always looked down on Faunuses.' Nicole said as she flapped her arms at her side.

Abraham stared at her for a few moments, thinking on this new piece of information. _Well, at least she's not the stuck-up kind. _'Anyhow, I don't think we've been formally introduced.' He said as he extended his hand. 'Abraham Linkin.'

The girl wiped her hands on her sleeveless vest before shaking Abraham's. 'Nicole Lunas.' He shook her hand as he noticed a small, pudgy brown bird by Nicole's feet.

'Is that yours? He's a cute little fella.' He said, gesturing to the flightless bird.

'Oh, you like him?' Nicole asked as she reached down to pet him. 'I found him in the forest the day of initiation.' She said, glancing up at Abraham with a smile. 'We were just out on a walk. I couldn't get away from my team otherwise.'

'Oh, are they meant to keep an eye on you?' Abraham asked, knowing that even though he hadn't been given the direct order from Ozpin, he was still supposed to keep his team calm, collected, and _not_ killing Judicators every five seconds. Somehow.

'Nah, but then again I didn't really get as bleak of a room as you and Drake got.' She tilted her head to the side. 'Do you know why?'

Abraham simply shrugged his shoulders. 'Ozpin has always had strange methods with dealing with unfamiliar situations. My best guess is that he trusts you not to cause trouble.'

'Don't worry, I won't.' Nicole said, holding up her hands defensively. 'I actually quite like it here. Clean beds, nice people and to top it off, I don't have to be constantly watching my back!' she said with a bit more cheer.

'I'll bet.' He murmured, but then a thought struck his mind. 'How did you and Drake…get together?'

Nicole held up her hand and looked like she was about to explain, but couldn't seem to find the right words. Instead, she silently changed the shape of her mouth before she replied. 'Well, it's kinda a personal thing.'

Abraham frantically waved his hands. 'No, not like that! I mean, how did you first meet him?' he said, feeling slightly embarrassed that the question sounded the way it did.

'Oh, well that's an easy one. You see, my family's got people that don't particularly fancy them, so some time ago they…kidnapped me.'

'Couldn't handle them yourself?' Abraham joked.

'Uh, believe me. I was a lot more dapper than dangerous before I met Drake. Anyway, my parents hired Drake to come and rescue me, which he did. Then, well, after that, I just couldn't stop thinking about how cool he looked. I mean, he busted into a room with like, six guys, and took them out in three. Seconds, that is. After that, I knew I wanted to find him again and…y'know, train to be like him.'

'Why not just become a Huntress then?' Abraham asked, the answer to her problem seeming simple as taking up the legal version of Drake's job.

'My parents wouldn't have allowed it. They need me to be this pretty little duchess and marry out to some snobby lord in order to have an heir to their...what's the word. Heritage.' Nicole explained, her face registering disgust as she did. 'If I took up Huntress training, they'd be able to find me. But as a mercenary, jumping from place to place all the time,' she chuckled as she scooped up the small bird in her arms. '-I mean, they even hired other mercenaries to hunt us down!'

'So Drake just…took you in?'

Nicole's expression fell at that as she looked at her feet. 'No, he thought I wasn't cut out for it. Said I should've just gone back home. If he hadn't taken me in, I'm not sure what my parents would have done.' Her expression suddenly brightened up by a dozen times. 'But after a little persuading, he took me in. I had to swear that I had to do exactly as he said and never question his tactics, but it was worth it!' she said with great confidence as she threw her hands into the air.

It was then that Abraham took note that she wore a silver bracelet on her right wrist, as it reflected the light of the morning sun directly into his eyes. The glare only lasted for a second before she dropped her hands back to her sides. His eyes continued to follow the bracelet, as he noticed that it bore a logo he found oddly familiar.

'Where did you get that?' he asked, pointing to the bracelet.

Nicole held up the bracelet closer to her face. 'What this? It's my…um. It's nothing.' She said as she put on an exaggerated smile, making no attempts to hide the bracelet. This allowed Abraham to just faintly make out what it was.

The symbol of the silver bracelet was that of a white ring containing a smaller white sphere, which just touched the right-end edge of the ring. And it was identical to the one he had seen all those years ago.

'Is that so?' he thought out loud, his voice sounding a little more timid as he was lost in thought. 'Well, I'd better be off. Need to make sure that Drake and Nathan haven't killed each other or tried to run away.'

Nicole chuckled sheepishly at that. 'Why would they want to do that?' she said as she rubbed the back of her head with one of her hands.

Abraham only let his thoughts linger on her reaction for a moment before he took off. 'Until next time, Nicole.'

'Bye! Oh, and cool bird!' she shouted, which Doombeak replied to with a loud squawk. Abraham waved to her over his shoulder as he continued walking, wondering the rest of the way back to the Detention Blocks where he had seen the darn symbol.

_She seems trustworthy enough. _Doombeak remarked.

Abraham let out a sigh as he found himself agreeing with the raven. _Yeah, I guess so. Still, there's no harm in keeping an eye on her for anything...mischievous._

* * *

Pacing back and forth in his designated "waiting room", Raider silently thought to himself, while Trickshot and Ripper cleaned their weapons on two different wooden benches at opposite ends of the wooden house they were in. Which took a long time with more than six weapons each.

'_Only rookies that don't understand the finer weapon arts need more than one weapon.' _He remembered telling them the day that they had decided to tag along with him. Only now, after seeing how well off they were in battle with such a wide array of weapons to choose from, did he start to regret not hanging on to or crafting a nice ranged weapon for himself.

_I don't need a ranged weapon. _He thought to himself. _If it comes down to it, I'll just peel one off the nearest sucker._

He continued to wear a track into the wooden floor until new sets of footsteps could be heard coming through the front entrance of the wooden building. He quickly spun around to see Father Vicitor, with Emily at his side.

'Raider, I need a favour.' Vicitor said in a monotonous voice, but Raider wasn't up for games or riddles after what had happened last night.

'Yeah, and I want to know what the hell that thing was!' he yelled at the cultist leader, causing his wingmen to pause in their cleaning.

'What are you talking about?' Vicitor asked, his voice sounding somewhat tired.

'That…thing!' Raider tried to quickly describe its shape with his hands before continuing. 'I've seen some weird crap in this line of work, but that…' he took a few steps closer to Vicitor until he was barely a foot from him. 'I just want to know if you're recruiting anymore monsters before I stick my neck out for you and your "Cause".' He said through gritted teeth.

Emily was about to respond with a sharp remark, but Vicitor stopped her by quickly raising his hand. 'Come now, Raider. I thought you said that you were the greatest bounty hunter along the Southern Hemisphere.' Vicitor said with a chuckle and a mocking smirk. 'Were we not victorious in battle?'

'No.'

'Well, didn't you return with a prize?' He said as he gestured to the staff he had taken off the Hunter as Vicitor paced in a circle around him. 'And more importantly, your life?'

'One; I am the greatest bounty hunter this side of Remnant.' He said as he held up a finger for emphasis. 'Two-'

'If I didn't know any better, I would think that you are afraid of it.' Vicitor said as he made a complete circle around Raider.

Raider was blindly enraged by the words, more so that he actually did feel threatened by the beast's presence. He looked first to Emily, who wore a victorious smirk and held her head high. Then, he looked back to Vicitor. 'Me? Afraid of some…Grimm like that?' He could practically feel the other two mercenaries snickering at him.

'Oh, I can assure you, bounty hunter.' Vicitor said as his gaze darkened and he leaned closer to whisper to Raider. 'The prodigal child is no mere Grimm.'

'Then what is it?' Raider challenged, not backing away even when Vicitor's piercing red eyes were inches from his.

Suddenly Vicitor took a step backwards before asking, 'Would you like to find out?'

'Father.' Emily began to protest, but was silenced as Vicitor walked backwards to hold open the wooden door to the building for Raider.

Emily was the first to exit the building, followed by Raider, followed by Ripper and Trickshot at his signal. They reluctantly put down the weapons they were cleaning before picking up their sidearms and following him.

Raider stepped out of the building they were in, an inn in an abandoned village somewhere south of Vale. Raider had to take another moment to look at his surroundings, questioning their choice of shelter.

'Are you sure that the Grimm won't attack us, Vicitor?' he asked, as he followed the two black-clad figures across the dirt path towards another building on the opposite side of the road. 'This village was abandoned for a reason.'

'Trust me, my friend.' Father Vicitor chuckled. 'The Grimm will not bother us this night. And if they do, I believe that you and your compatriots can handle it.'

'That is if you're willing to pay extra.' Raider grumbled as they rounded the decrepit wooden house. The house was two floors tall and larger than most of the small huts around it, indicating that it likely belonged to someone wealthy or of authority in the village. Behind it, Raider saw several cultists moving steel crates about, being directed by the tattered figure that Vicitor referred to only as Andrew.

He noticed something about the company that Andrew kept, and what Trickshot had said about them had only reinforced his beliefs. Most of them had hollow, black eyes. It wasn't just the iris that was black, it was the entire eyeball. And the ways their bodies moved were like a child playing with a doll; bodies jerking suddenly, turning clumsily in wide arcs like a dying ballet dancer, too strangely for even the most strung-out human to ever do, which had led Raider to believe that they were under some sort of enchantment.

Whatever it was, he was keeping his eyes open if Vicitor tried the same thing on him. 'Andrew.' Vicitor called, causing the figure to turn towards Vicitor, pale beak-mask with glass windows into expressionless eyes. 'Would you please open one of the crates for our friends?'

Andrew responded with a clicking noise that sounded more like creaking wood, before he turned around and marched over to one of the boxes. He grabbed the lid of the box with both of his black latex glove-covered hands before lifting it up effortlessly and leaning it against the side of the crate.

Raider walked closer to examine to contents of the box, before his eyes went wide.

'Is that…?' Trickshot asked, leaving the question hanging as he turned to Ripper, whose eyebrows were raised in surprise.

'I think it is.' Raider said as he reached in and pulled out one of the many identical items from the box.

'Latest from Atlas, if I am correct.' Vicitor stated as he held up one of the weapons. It was an advanced Atlesian battle-rifle. Raider's mind went over every feature of the weapon as his Aura surged through it, proving that is was, first and foremost, authentic.

'Fires much faster and with a feather-trigger feature unlike any other before.' Raider said as he held the sight to his eye, noticing that the sight on the weapon even had aiming assistance. 'And aim assist.'

'Where did you get these?' Ripper asked Raider.

'More importantly, how did you get them?' Trickshot followed up.

'That is not-' Emily started, but was cut off by Father Vicitor.

'We have many...associates...all over Remnant. One of them was kind enough to provide us with a sample of these weapons.' Vicitor waved over to the other crates, which a few of the cultists opened for the mercenaries to see the contents. 'That is the favour I wanted to ask of you, Raider.'

Raider almost drooled at the sight of the equipment in the crates. It was all a weapon expert like himself, and his wingmen, could ask for. One of the crates contained high-grade thermal explosives, while the other contained foldable crossbows that came with lethal and non-lethal rounds. 'The associate that provided us with these weapons was but a herald, providing us with a sample of his product that we may meet with his supplier. I wish for you and your associates to enter the black market, where these weapons are being sold, to complete the trade.'

Raider looked back at Vicitor, unsure of what to say. He was spared for the moment, as Vicitor cut him off again. 'All the expenses shall be paid for, and you can expect some…recompense.' Vicitor said, folding his arms. 'I know this isn't typically what you do, but I can think of no one better to execute this task with finesse and...discretion.'

Raider turned to his two fellow mercenaries, who were each examining a piece of equipment from the crates-Ripper examining the explosives while Trickshot examined the crossbow-before asking, 'What do you guys think?'

There was a short silence as the two men seemed deep in thought before Trickshot spoke. 'I want a cut of the supplies to do whatever I want with.' Directing the demand at Vicitor.

'Same on this end.' Ripper said as he put the explosives back in the crate.

'Of course.' Vicitor said with a wide grin and holding his arms out wide as if to hug them. 'Take as much as you need. We are, after all, on the same side of this conflict.'

Raider was stunned for a moment. _As much as we need? _He thought, before coming to the conclusion that this sort of stuff came with working with cultists.

_I could always use some better explosives. _He swallowed in order to quench his dry throat before replying with his answer. 'Alright, we'll do it.' Earning him a satisfied look from Father Vicitor. 'When do we leave?'

'On tomorrow's eve, my friend.' Vicitor said as he placed a hand on Raider's shoulder. 'Then, we ride for the Hidden Bazaar in Vale.' He said before he turned on his heel. 'Help yourself to the equipment we just received.' He said as he walked away. 'And if you need anything else, Sister Emily will be able to help you.' He suddenly stopped. 'Won't she?' he asked, not bothering to face the woman.

'Of course, Father.' She said with a respectful bow, though her eyes were closed the entire time, and her teeth were gritted together.

'Come, Andrew.' He said as he waved his hand forward, signalling for the strange, bird-masked man to follow him. 'We must get word out to the other children. Let them know that their brother has been found.' Andrew replied with a curt nod before heading off in a different direction.

_The Hidden Bazaar…He's either talking about the actual Hidden Bazaar, or some other black market spot. _He thought as Trickshot approached him. 'I don't like this.'

'Me neither.' He murmured. 'But at least the pay is good.' He said at last, getting ready to help himself to the Atlesian technology before he remembered something else.

'Father Vicitor!' he shouted, causing the figure in the black coat to halt in his advance, though he never turned around or assessed that he had heard Raider at all. 'You never answered my question. If that…Wolf isn't a Grimm, then what is it?'

A heavy silence hung over them for what felt like a few hours. Raider looked to Emily, to see that she was also looking to Vicitor, apparently expecting an answer. Her face also registered curiosity, which at least let Raider know that she wouldn't bombard him with insults later at asking the "Holy Father" such an outlandish question.

Eventually, Father Vicitor slowly shook his head back and forth, before his answer left Raider more than just a little worried about his choice of employer.

'He is my son.'


	32. Chapter 28

**A****/N: I just want to address to the viewers that if anyone still wants to submit an OC, that all they have to do is PM me with the correct details so that I can work on it without technical issues. If there isn't enough detail to it or if there is something missing, I'll just reply to you and we'll get it sorted out.**

Once Broken…

Sitting in the prison cell with his back against the wall, Nathan pressed as hard as he could down onto the crease of the piece of paper he was folding before he proudly held up a finely crafted paper flower. When he had requested that they give him something to do before he died of boredom, he had been given the choice between pieces of paper and a single pencil or a rubber ball. He weighed up his options and eventually decided that he would get more out of the papers.

He got more than he bargained for, as Drake had walked over to his end of the cell and asked to borrow the paper and pencil to map out their exit path. Nathan had graciously agreed to the proposal and now waited for Drake's results. Luckily for them as well, Abraham had yet to take notice as he seemed to be taking a nap in his small cut-out of the walls which Nathan were starting to think were made of bedrock or obsidian by how hard it felt.

Since he woke up, Nathan decided that he might as well take in the prison cell, especially so considering that breakfast hadn't arrived yet. He scanned the room with his eyes while his hands absentmindedly folded another paper airplane. He took in everything from the two, three metre long flood lights that were built into the ceiling of the cell and protected by some kind of tempered glass, to the cage in the very centre of the room, in between the two lights, with bars that reached to the ceiling. There wasn't much else in the room aside from their makeshift beds that were more or less holes cut out of the wall.

Nathan had learned several days ago that if he needed to use the bathroom, the guards would blindfold him before taking him to it, lest he see something he wasn't meant to see.

Suddenly, the doors to the cell opened to allow for Rachel and Horizon to enter the cell. 'C'mon,' she said with a gesture of her head. '-Ozpin wants to see you four.'

Abraham suddenly sprang up from his nap and made a beeline for the exit. Drake followed slowly behind him as Nathan placed his paper airplane on top of the small pyramid of the others he had made.

As Nathan got to the exit of the cell block, he turned around when he heard a loud clatter of metal and the snarls of the Wolf creature. He watched as Rachel dragged the creature out of its cell with only her bare hands, while Horizon got into a position behind it and pressed his large revolver to its back.

'Just like old times, huh?' Horizon said to Rachel, his lilac eyes never leaving the creature.

'Not really.' She replied before looking to Nathan. 'Well, what are you waiting for? Move!' she yelled, causing him to realise that he had stopped to stare at the two of them. He began walking at a brisk pace before she could yell at him again, as they made their way towards the elevator that would take them up to Ozpin's office, crossing the long hallways that were lined with green torches.

Barely a few seconds into the elevator ride up, Nathan was suddenly struck with a thought. 'Y'know, they should really play music in these things.' He said to no one in particular.

'Tried that once.' Horizon said, never taking his eyes off Wolf. 'Rachel over here ripped the speaker off and threw it from Ozpin's office.'

'I was having a bad day.' She tried to justify in a nonchalant tone.

'Sounds like you're always having a bad day.' Abraham said with a sigh.

Nathan was about to make a remark about how he could turn around almost any bad day with a great night, but the elevator had chimed to indicate that they had reached their designated floor.

'That thing is great; I could hardly feel any movement.' Nathan remarked as he stepped out of the elevator.

Rachel shrugged as she took up a leaning position by the elevator. 'We have it serviced once a fortnight.'

Nathan faced towards the desk to focus on Glynda and Ozpin, who seemed to have not registered that they had entered the spacious room at all yet.

Abraham immediately approached the front of the desk. 'Do you have any new leads on the whereabouts of the cult?' he asked as he leaned on the glass table.

Ozpin replied with a curt nod and a smile as he shut tapped something on his computer that caused a projector to project a large, white square on the glass window behind him. 'We may, but first, how are you feeling today, Drake?' He asked.

Drake slowly shook his head as he pulled down his hood. 'Fine, that girl's Semblance doesn't seem to have any lasting effects. Minus the shock of it.'

'Good,' Ozpin said as he stood up from his chair. '-because we'll need your help in our next course of action.'

'My help?' he repeated.

'His help?' Abraham asked, looking back and forth between Ozpin and Drake.

'Abraham, we're trying to stop a cult that we think are bent on tearing apart every kingdom in Remnant.' Glynda explained, much to Nathan's surprise. 'Now, we haven't been able to locate where they ran off to, but we have reviewed the aftermath of your battle at August Elementary with them and have found several...matters that should be...addressed.'

Ozpin took his place slightly to the forward-right of Nathan, while Glynda stood to the forward-right of Drake as images of weapons were projected on the glass of the window. They were easier to see than Nathan thought, but he brushed it off as being caused by the overcast that currently hung over them.

'Do any of these look familiar to you?' Ozpin said as the pictures changed from a rifle to a pistol, then to a submachine gun, then to a grenade.

'Hmm, nope.' Nathan said as he put a hand to his chin and examined the pictures closely for as long as they stayed up.

'Me neither. But…by the looks of it, they're rather advanced.' Abraham remarked, turning to Glynda for a second before turning back.

Eventually, when a picture of a crossbow came up, Drake finally spoke. 'Wait, stop!' he shouted, and suddenly all eyes were on him.

'Do you recognize this weapon?' Ozpin asked him.

'It's an Atlesian prototype crossbow, yes. Type…something, I forgot.' He recited mechanically.

'That can't be,' Abraham said, taking a step closer to Drake. '-I keep up to date with the latest technological advancements from Atlas, and I've never seen this model before.'

'That's because it hasn't been released yet.' Drake said, facing Abraham. 'This is a prototype, still in its final stages of testing.'

'Then how do you know about it?' Abraham asked, though it came out as more of a command than a question.

Drake paused for a moment before turning back to the image of the weapon. 'Atlas can be…careless, with its technology. If even one model is slipped out to an illegal weapon's manufacturer, an entire line of that weapon can be produced.' He explained before turning back to Abraham. 'I saw it on a black market.'

'Our contacts in Atlas tell us there have been no large-scale robberies or break-ins, nor have they reported significant activity like what we encountered at that elementary school, which means there's only one place they could have acquired such weaponry.' Glynda explained.

'The black market.' Drake finished for her.

Everything was slowly beginning to make sense to Nathan as he thought about what their next objective was supposed to be. 'You want us to cut off their supply of weapons.' He thought out loud.

'Correct.' The white-haired professor affirmed. 'And I believe that Mr Venari will be able to help us locate their weapon suppliers.'

Everyone returned to looking at Drake for his response, as he seemed deep in thought. 'It's not that simple. I may have several contacts that could tell us who the suppliers are, but locating the suppliers themselves is another story entirely.' He shook his head solemnly. 'We don't even know where to start looking.'

'That's where you're wrong.' Glynda explained as the projection changed to a blurry image of a crowded street. However, one area of the image was in higher detail, and clearly showed Raider, and the two other mercenaries that followed him about in some kind of market place. 'We were able to recover this image from a surveillance camera in Vale today. They seem to be at some kind of market.'

'The Bazaar.' Drake murmured, appearing unaware that he said anything at all as he paced back and forth, hand on his chin.

'Is there something you wish to tell us, Mr Venari?' asked Ozpin.

Drake pointed to the image on the screen before asking, 'Can you pull up a map of Vale?' not directly answering the question.

Ozpin nodded before turning to his touchpad and keying in several commands. The surveillance photo faded away to show a map of Vale. 'Zoom in towards the south-west of Vale and don't stop until I say so.' Ozpin began enlarging the map, focussed on the south-west of Vale before Drake held up his hand. 'Stop. Now focus on that group of buildings!' he said, pointing to where he wanted Ozpin to focus on.

As Ozpin did so, Abraham spoke up. 'Drake, you know that's just a bunch of shops in a market place, right?'

'What better place to sell illegal goods. It's known as The Hidden Bazaar by the criminal underworld, and is the largest black market in Vale.' Drake turned his attention on Abraham. 'You have been there before, haven't you?'

'Well, yes. What does-'

'Did you find any of the shops there to be odd?' Drake cut him off.

'Well, no.' Abraham replied, unsure.

Drake let out a sigh before continuing. 'What about the abundance of lamp shops?'

Abraham seemed to pause for a moment before it clicked in his head. 'Oh yeah. There were quite a lot of those, huh?

'Lamp shops are a cover for black market weapon dealers.' Drake explained. 'They only recognise potential buyers if they refer to them by their codename.'

'Genie.' Drake and Nathan said at the same time, earning him quizzical looks from Drake and Abraham. 'What? Sometimes parts never get delivered to the village I lived in, so I had to resort to the black market.'

Drake eventually turned back to the projection on the window while Abraham continued to scrutinize Nathan with his glare. 'Almost every illegal weapons dealer responds to that name.'

'And they've gotten by with that cover this entire time?' Abraham asked.

'No, it changes every two decades, so long as there aren't any large-scale operations against them.'

'A shadow by any other name is still a shadow.' Wolf said cryptically, which everyone seemed to ignore, especially Nathan. Even if the cryptic things that came out of Wolf's mouth sometimes really scared him.

'So, do you have a plan on how to go about this operation?' Professor Ozpin asked Drake, while Nathan could only imagine what he was thinking.

After pacing back and forth in a two metre long straight line, Drake finally stopped. 'If cutting off their supply for good is what we're going at, then I'll need her help.' He said, pointing at Rachel.

The brunette seemed to falter, looking back and forth before pointing to herself. 'Me?'

'We need to go in without any obvious weapons. If Raider or Trickshot are there, he'll pick us out of the crowd instantly if he sees our weapons. Or, at least that's what the rumours say.' Drake explained. 'Which means I need her to wait on standby, with our weapons ready in case things go bad.'

He then turned to Abraham and pointed at him. 'You'll also need to do as I say and not interfere with anything that goes on, unless you want us to blow our cover.'

Abraham looked to Professor Ozpin for a second before he sighed when Ozpin nodded his approval.

'Ok, Rachel, I need you to hold onto my halberd and scatterguns, as well as Abraham's axe. Abraham can hold onto his crossbows, and I will still need my knives.' He spun on his heel to face Nathan. 'Nathan, you can keep your guns, but you'll need to lose the holsters and hide them somewhere else.'

'No problem.' _I've done it before. _He thought to himself.

Rachel let out an audible sigh. 'I guess I can hang back until you need your gear.'

'We also need some kind of spotter…someone to keep an eye on things from a high vantage point, while not getting seen. Something like a drone, or someone with a cloaking Semblance.' Drake said, looking back and forth between faces to try and discern whether anyone had an idea.

'How about a bird?' Abraham asked. 'A trained bird that I can directly communicate with.' He reiterated.

Drake paused for a moment, staring at Abraham to see if he was joking or not. 'Are you sure we can count on it?' he asked.

'Him. It's a him.' Abraham stated. 'And yes, he can get a little distracted at times, but I trust him.'

'Well should I trust him?' Drake asked rhetorically, only pausing for a second to gauge a reaction from Abraham, and just as he was about to respond, Drake beat him to it. 'Alright, but be sure to describe to him who we're looking out for.'

'One last thing;' Abraham spoke up. 'What are we going to do with Wolf?'

The whole time, Nathan hadn't been considering what they would do with the monster among them. Out of everyone in the group, he stuck out the most, being a monstrous Grimm, humanoid, thing.

'I have walked amongst your kind, unseen.' Wolf said before he swirled his cape around his body. The cape seemed to lengthen until it draped over his entire body and even covered the most of his head in a cowl, adding an extra two inches to his six foot height. 'I can do it again.'

Now, he just seemed like a tall, dark-robed figure, if one didn't take time to smell him. 'Ok, I guess that works.' Drake said.

'If there is nothing more to be discussed,' Ozpin said as he began walking back to his desk. '-I think that we should be commencing with this operation. We are, after all, not sure how long Raider will be in the Bazaar.'

'There is still more to discuss, but it can be discussed on the go.' Drake explained as he looked between Glynda and Ozpin, seeming unsure of something.

'Then do so quickly; time is of the essence.' Ozpin said, taking a seat behind his glass table.

* * *

_This plan is going to burn all my contacts…and list me as "compromised", or worse, a "snitch" if they find out who I am. _Drake thought as he led the way towards The Bazaar. He had asked that Ozpin instruct their driver to drop them off ten blocks from the market place itself.

Though they had gotten an unmarked van, it would have still raised questions if four suspicious men got out of the back of an armoured grey van.

'Are you sure this is going to work?' Abraham asked in a hushed whisper, walking ever so closer to Drake to ask him.

'I'd be more worried about Wolf. Ozpin never got around to telling you when he would be able to get his hands on another explosive tracker?' Drake asked. Sure enough, Ozpin had placed a new tracker inside of Wolf-in between his shoulder-blades this time-but had been insistent on reminding the team how this tracker had no explosive capabilities.

'No, Ozpin hasn't told me yet.' Abraham murmured. 'But you don't have to worry about Wolf. If push comes to shove, we have Horizon backing us up, and he has one of the steadiest shots I've ever seen. So focus on the mission.'

'Hey, you've still got your eyes on us, right?' Nathan asked into the communications earpiece he wore, which transmitted whatever he said to each of their earpieces as well.

'Don't worry.' A smooth voice said over the link. 'I've still got you four in my sights, and am following at a respectful distance.'

'You're definition of respectful is very different to mine.' Abraham replied offhandedly, with a smirk on his face. Drake wasn't sure whether it was out of anxiety or if this was how Abraham normally approached a mission like this, but he hoped that the blonde-haired boy would at least give Drake a while to mark the suppliers before he started to stir up trouble.

'You should send your bird up about now.' Drake said without looking at Abraham as he pulled up his black hood.

He watched out of the corner of his peripheral vision as Abraham lifted the arm his black raven was perched on before flicking his wrist in an upwards motion, sending the bird flying. Drake had been a bit sceptical about whether he could trust in Abraham and his animal companion, but he supposed that he should at least give him a chance. _After all, Abraham seems to be almost as experienced as me. _Drake thought. _Not to mention, he seemed to have been in a deep mental conversation with the bird during the drive here._

'No mask today?' Nathan asked Drake as he followed directly behind him.

'No mask and no cape.' Drake corrected. 'There will be other mercenaries at The Bazaar and some of them might recognize me. More importantly; Raider might recognize me.' Drake said as he looked over his shoulder at Nathan. 'Keep your head low if you see any of them, and make sure no one sees your guns.'

Nathan patted his crotch reassuringly. A hard knocking sound revealing that was where he hid one of his pistols. 'I guess now I have three guns in my pants, huh?' he said, the pun directed to Abraham, who elbowed him in the ribs.

'And don't even think about flirting with the women there. One wrong move-' Abraham scolded.

'And things could get hectic. I know, I know.' Nathan reassured as he walked next to Drake.

They continued to walk along the sidewalk until the road turned to the right. The road to the right was much more different than the other three that met it at the four-way intersection DAWN now stood on the edge of. The first thing that was clearly different was that a red banner with no words or markings on it hung in between the two lamp posts on either side of the road. The second most notable thing was that the road was narrower than the others, in which a car could barely squeeze through; very unusual in the modern city of Vale.

Barely four metres from the banner, two small stalls had been set up along either side of the road, selling various wares in front of the shops on the respective sides of the road. What most people would have seen as a hawker selling various metal and wooden ornaments and knickknacks, Drake saw a dealer selling various drugs and illegal substances.

It was identifiable by the band he wore on his wrist-the left wrist. It was red and had the ace of spades on it. Getting involved in the criminal underworld was not an easy business, and there were a lot of symbols and layouts of territory that he had to memorise, but it was the only way to go after Infamous Co. and the people that murdered his parents.

It was only after a few seconds did Drake notice that the others had stopped behind him, seeming to wait on his signal. With a heavy sigh, he continued forward, making a quick gesture to follow using only his fingers.

They passed mercenaries, criminals and innocent Vale folk alike as they made their way through the marketplace, bathed in the yellow glow of the setting sun. The mercenaries and criminals could have actually been quite hard to discern from the regular citizens at times. Some wore hoods and hoodies while others wore simple clothing, though the thing that made them difficult to tell apart from the average person was that sometimes, the average person would carry a weapon with them.

They continued down a bend in the road-making sure to not draw attention to themselves while they kept their eyes open for any sign of the cult. As they made their way past the bend in the road, Drake spotted a lamp shop ahead, and decided that this was a good place to start.

'Abraham, has your bird reported back to you yet?' he asked, offhandedly as he continued towards the shop building.

'Not yet, but he said that he'll report back as soon as he sees anyone fitting the "cult look".' He said in reply.

'Ok,' Drake said after a sigh. 'I'm going to go and see if I can find out who exactly is supplying The Old Eclipse with their weapons.' He said as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the lamp shop. 'Abraham and Nathan, you keep watch for Raider or any of the others. Oh, and keep an eye on Wolf.' He said as the completely shrouded figure let out a low, almost unheard growl.

He turned to enter the building when he felt someone tug at his left shoulder. He turned around to see Nathan wearing a determined expression. 'I'm telling you Drake; I can gather information on our suppliers as well. You've seen me negotiate before.'

It was true; Nathan's ability to talk people into telling him what he wanted to know was unlike anything Drake had come across before. But this was different, and they couldn't afford to slip up.

'Flirting and twisting a conversation to your favour is very different to talking to a Genie.' Drake replied steadily, but Nathan wasn't finished.

'Good evening, Genie. I wish for some of the finest salt in all the lands.' Nathan recited quietly. Drake took this as a challenge to see whether Nathan actually knew what Nathan was talking about.

'Then what is your second wish?' he asked him.

'My second wish my second wish is the meat to which I will use the salt to preserve.' Nathan replied in a monotonous tone again.

'And what is your third wish?'

Nathan chuckled and shook his head. 'My third wish is for you to get paid.'

Drake stood silent for a few seconds. It was how he had been taught to ask to buy weapons. Salt was the keyword for ammunition. Meat for weapons. It was often compulsory that you ask for the ammunition before you asked for the weapon, but the procedure changed with the different kingdoms.

_He actually knows what he's talking about._ 'Alright, you head to the one further down the road.' He said, pointing to a smaller lamp shop. Nathan threw his fist in the air slightly as he walked off. 'That means I'm counting on you to keep watch, Abraham.'

Abraham nodded his reply, and Drake turned to enter the lamp shop. Taking slow steps towards the front entrance, he pat his upper left arm and right hip to make sure that the knives he had hidden were still there. There was also an additional knife stowed away in his right boot, but it would take too long for him to reach down and grab it, so he was saving it for emergencies.

Pushing past the front door, he entered a dimly lit room that smelled of various incenses and oils. The windows of the room had been tinted yellow and were dirty, but Drake thought that was done on purpose to draw more focus to the various Dust and oil lamps that hung by chains around the room or sat on shelves.

Some were alight while others weren't, but the brightest lamp had to be the one that the shop-owner set aside next to him at the counter. The Genie was well built, bald and had tanned skin. He wore a thin, white shirt with a blue vest over it and black jeans.

'Welcome, and what can I do for you today?' he asked in a deep voice as Drake pretended to take an interest in the various lamps while absentmindedly walking up to the counter.

'Good evening, Genie.' He greeted, and the man's eyes instantly darkened. 'I wish for information.'

The Genie paused for a moment as he leaned over the counter top. 'Information about what?'

'I've heard rumours of a cult going by the name of The Old Eclipse.' He lied. 'I just want to know whether they've been here and bought some of the latest prototypes from Atlas.'

The tanned man shook his head. 'You should know that I don't disclose business with other clients. Even if they have come to buy from me, I can't tell you.'

'Can you tell me whether any other Genies have had contact with them?' Drake pressed the matter.

The man's face had begun to harden and his facial expression was one of anger. 'I'll have you know that I haven't made contact with another Genie in two months, and even if I did, I'm still forbidden to tell you.'

_Great, guess I should try somewhere else. If I had more money, I could bribe it out of him…It's weird seeing a Genie that obeys such a loosely established creed. _Drake thought, before the Genie continued. 'However, I can tell you that word is that there's a new upstart group going by the name of The White Fang.'

'What makes them so special?' Drake asked, offhandedly.

'They're standing up for the Faunus. Clients that want to just have some offhanded chitchat have talked about how their buying up weapons and arms here and there. Said that it means that either the Faunus are going to rise up, or bring Humans down.' The Genie said as he pulled out a piece of cloth from under the desk. The cloth was blue in colour, and had the pattern of a wolf's face on it. 'That's supposed to be their symbol.' He said, pointing at the cloth.

_I guess that'll have to do. _Drake thought to himself. Genies would always find a way to deliver on what their clients wanted, or die trying. Customer satisfaction wasn't always guaranteed, but they ideally got what they wanted. The information was rather interesting none the less.

'My second wish is for an emitter.' Drake said, getting to the second reason he was here. 'Smallest you've got, but also the most powerful.'

The large man started walking to the back of his shop. 'Let me see what I've got.' He hollered as he went through a back door.

Just as the back door closed, Drake turned to the sound of the front door opening. He had to remind himself to keep calm as he watched Raider enter the shop.

* * *

Leaning against a building-with his top-hat pulled down to cover most of his face, Abraham kept a watchful eye out for anyone that even looked like a cultist, while keeping one eye on Wolf at all times.

It helped that Doombeak was with him, giving him not only an extra pair of eyes, but eyes from a vantage point. Though he hadn't reported back yet, Abraham had a good feeling in his gut about this place. _This time, we'll get them for sure._

While he was keeping watch for any suspicious activity, he couldn't help but notice some things he never thought to look out for before. After what Drake had said about how it made sense to have a black market concealed under an actual market, Abraham paid closer attention to some of the stalls and the things they sold. Sure enough, he saw the barrel of some weapon hidden underneath one of the stalls with a large cloth draped over the table, when a strong breeze blew through the streets.

Just thinking about how long this trade has been going on and how many lives have been lost because the weapons were sold to the wrong hands was enough to make Abraham swear that one of these days; he would come back here and expose every illegal weapon and drug dealer in this marketplace, even if it caused the market to close permanently.

He was quite startled when he heard a voice in his head as he was absentmindedly drumming his fingers on one of his bracers.

_Abraham, I saw a man that fit one of your descriptions enter a closed building. _Shaking off the initial shock after he realised it was just Doombeak, Abraham responded.

_Which one? One of the mercenaries? _He asked as he began moving towards where he felt Doombeak's Aura signature was coming from.

_Yes. The one you know as Ripper. _Doombeak responded, the voice getting clearer and louder to indicate that Abraham was getting closer to him.

_Did you sense Arboria?_

_I have sensed it, yet I have not seen it. It is like a smell carried by a changing wind. _Doombeak replied as Abraham sighed, though he took comfort in the thought that it was close in proximity.

_Where are you? I cannot see you. _Abraham said as he slowly wandered about a sharp turn in one street, keeping his eyes open while trying not to look like he was lost.

That was when he heard a faint squawking from behind him. He turned to see his raven perched on top of a lamppost, indicating with one of his wings the building which Ripper had supposedly walked into. The door to the building seemed to be made of heavy steel, and was likely locked from the inside, judging by the small sliding trapdoor built to let someone from inside look out.

_The man said a phrase, "Carrion", before entering the building. _Doombeak said as Abraham tapped his communicator on his ear.

'Guys, I think I've found Ripper. I'm moving in to intercept. Horizon, keep an eye on Wolf for me while I'm gone.' He said in a hushed voice as he adjusted his bracers, getting ready for a fight if needed.

'_Already on it_.' Horizon replied over the communicator.

'_Guys, I think I spotted the creepy gal from yesterday_.' Said Nathan. '_She seems to have moved around behind some of the shops. I'm moving to intercept._'

'_Do you need backup?_' Abraham asked, getting ready to knock on the heavy door.

'_No, I want to find out what this is about first._' Nathan replied, sounding little bit distracted.

'_Should I be worried?_' Rachel suddenly chipped in to the conversation.

Abraham hesitated for a moment before replying. 'Yes.' He said as he knocked on the door.

The trapdoor slid open and a pair of amber eyes glared at Abraham. 'We're closed.'

'Carrion.' Abraham said in a calm, monotonous voice. The eyes continued to stare at him for another two seconds, before the small window slid shut and several the sound of bolts could be heard. The door suddenly opened and Abraham stepped into the dark room. _Stay out here, Doombeak. I won't be long._

He was immediately greeted with the sight of a flight of stairs that led down into some kind of basement where yellow lights and cheers could be heard.

Tipping his hat slightly to acknowledge the guard by the door, Abraham made his way down the staircase. He was halfway down the staircase before he could suddenly hear the faint sounds of what sounded like a fist-fight.

Curious, Abraham hurried down the stairs, though what he saw made him sick to his stomach.

In the centre of the basement was a circular pit roughly two metres deep into the ground, surrounded by a meta fencing to create something akin to a birdcage, lit by a single, ring-shaped light on the ceiling. There were several people cheering the two contenders in the arena as they threw punches high and low. What was most sickening was that when Abraham got closer, he noticed that several of the men towards the opposite of the basement held the ends of rusted iron chains. Bound along the length of the chain were various Faunuses that looked malnourished, bruised and wore blank expressions. Some wore tattered clothes, while others barely had enough cloth to cover their lower regions.

Abraham's trance of sheer horror was broken by a sickening scream of pain from the centre of the room. His eyes instantly fixated on the two contenders in the arena, both Faunuses. Both badly bruised and bleeding from various scratch marks across their body. At the moment, the tiger Faunus was digging his claws into the arm of the raccoon Faunus while trying to bite his neck. By the colours of the different patches of blood on the concrete floor, Abraham could tell that this wasn't the first fight, or the arena hadn't been cleaned in a while.

The sight of the tiger Faunus sinking his teeth into the other Faunus' neck made Abraham want to throw up. _Faunus fights! _He thought as he used his hand to cover his face to both block out the smell and control the nausea he was feeling. _I thought I got rid of all the Fight Clubs in Vale! And are they cheering? _He thought as the surviving Faunus raised his arms in triumph, blood streaking down his face.

_Abraham, what is wrong? I can feel your distress. _He heard Doombeak, but paid it little mind and did not respond, petrified with disgust while some of the men in the room gave money to each other, likely having lost their bet at who would win.

As the bleeding corpse of the defeated Faunus was dragged out of the pit up a set of stairs, another was shoved down and fell on his face. This time, it was a fox Faunus, and he looked much smaller and scared than his opponent.

'Let's get this thing started!' Abraham heard a man yell as someone else rang a bell, signalling the start of the fight.

For the most part, the fox Faunus weaved and ducked in between the tiger Faunus' heavy swings and lunges. This went on for a good ten seconds before the fox Faunus moved too slowly to dodge a blow from the tiger Faunus, hitting him on the side of the head and knocking him to the floor.

The crowd was cheering and chanting for the tiger Faunus to end the fight at this point, while Abraham had come to the solid conclusion that he had to do something.

He sprinted for one of the entrances to the pit as the tiger Faunus pounced on top of the fox Faunus. When the guard protecting the entryway tried to stop Abraham, he delivered a quick jab to his face before flipping him over his shoulder.

Fortunately, the cage door had a simple latch as a lock, so all Abraham had to do was unlatch it as he sprinted inside, his Patriot's Will pushing his body further. As the tiger Faunus realised that someone else had entered the pit, Abraham was already at his side, delivering a knee to his stomach as he pulled him off the smaller Faunus boy.

The crowd began shouting in outrage as Abraham threw the stunned body of the tiger Faunus to the floor. 'Get up!' he shouted to the fox Faunus, offering his hand to help him up. The Faunus took it and was quickly pulled to his feet. He took a minute to regain his sense of balance, but Abraham was already crashing through the fence-doors of the cage. He immediately broke into a dash towards the other Faunuses in chains and shackles while slavers and criminals alike started running out of the basement, taking pot-shots as they ran. Some of the guards that flanked the Faunus slaves tried to attack Abraham, but they were too slow.

Ducking and weaving in between their strikes, Abraham made short work of the guards before breaking apart the rusty chains and shackles with his bracers. The Faunuses looked to each other blankly before Abraham shouted at them in a triumphant voice.

'Go, you're free!' they seemed to reluctantly obey the command as they made their way to the exit. Abraham's anger and senses were still heightened when he heard a familiar voice.

'Hunter!' he turned towards the voice. Ripper stood with his back to the entrance to the basement, tomahawks drawn. 'I had a lot of money riding on that fight!' he shouted as he took up a fighting stance.

Abraham took up his own fighting stance, reaching behind his back instinctively before realising he didn't have Nightwither with him.

He remained in his fighting stance as he used one hand to tap his earpiece. 'Hey, Rachel. Could you get my axe ready? Don't worry, I'll find you. Just…be ready with it.' He said quietly as Ripper took a step towards him, then another before he broke out into a sprint at his third step.


	33. Chapter 29

**A****/N: Wow…the finale to RWBY Volume 3 sure hit like a rock huh? Seriously, I wasn't sure what was wrong with me, but I was just reeling from the aftershock of the episode for the following 24 hours! And now, we wait…and read Fanfiction.**

**On another note, I did not expect this story arc to be split like this. I mean, I expected to make it a two-part, but I was going to split it at a different interval. So…tell me if I'm doing anything wrong.**

**Also, along with DAWN, me and my friends are working on something we'll only be calling Project: FOG for now, but it will begin by the time the tension in the story settles down.**

…Considered Sold

Keeping his head low and reminding himself to remain patient, Wolf walked through the streets of the marketplace, focussing on keeping his senses keen for any sign of the cult he encountered a few days prior.

Even when he first disembarked from the Human vehicle, he could sense a dark power equal, or even greater than his own.

He was here.

Wolf wasn't sure how he knew what he did about the cult that smelled of Grimm and spoke of Solis Mortis, but he was sure that he would have his answers. Whether they came back to him, or he took them for himself.

He slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder to make sure that the Human they referred to as Horizon was still following him. Sure enough, he was pretending not to take an interest in Wolf while always being around the corner when Wolf tried to locate the dark power he felt.

When he turned his head around to face where he was going, Wolf caught the glimpse of a shadowy figure as it disappeared around another corner. From behind the thin veil of darkness that he wore to conceal his face, he could sense the power of other Alpha's emanating from the figure.

Pushing past anyone in his way, he turned the corner and watched as the figure disappeared into an alleyway in between two buildings, on the opposite side of the street, clear of the marketplace. Wolf made to follow, constantly looking from side to side, slowly, to make sure he himself wasn't being followed.

Crossing the street and entering the alleyway, Wolf found that it was abandoned. No shadowy figure, no Humans, just the rats that scuttled along in the dirt.

Wolf continued on for a few more steps down the alleyway before he heard a voice from behind him.

'Hello, dear child.' Wolf spun around to face Vicitor, drawing forth his claws and barring his fangs. 'Or do you prefer, Wolf?' Wolf snarled and took a step back, raising his arms to block any attack as Father Vicitor raised his arms up in surrender. 'Please, sweet child. I simply wanted to apologize for…lashing out at you like that. It was not right. I was not right to let my anger get the better of me.' He said as he dropped his hands to his side when he noticed that Wolf made no advances on him.

'You seek to deceive me.' Wolf proclaimed, watching Father Vicitor closely for any sudden moves.

'I wish only that you reconsider my offer. We are, after all, fighting the same fight.' Father Vicitor said with longing in his eyes.

_The Father mocks the Grimm Way with this kind of talk._ Wolf thought as his claws dissipated into thin air. 'If we are fighting the same fight, then we are to also fight each other.'

'If we are to become more than we already are,' Vicitor argued. '-we must look beyond simply fighting each other.'

Wolf let out a heavy growl before continuing. 'It is not the Grimm Way.'

Vicitor paused for a moment, seeming to consider what Wolf said. 'Desperate times call for changes in tradition. I may have not spent as much time as you amongst the Grimm, but I know that if we fight like them, then we will lose. Imagine, Wolf;' he said as he looked towards the sky and spread his arms. '-all of this at our feet. We will overcome Solis Mortis together. With you, and your brothers and sisters at our sides, nothing can stop us!'

'Brothers and sisters?' Wolf asked, perplexed at what Vicitor could mean.

'Yes. Others like yourself. Forsaken by Humanity and protected and raised by The Old Eclipse. They, like you, have gifts that Humanity is too simple-minded to appreciate.' Vicitor said with a wide smile. 'I will make you a deal; when we rule Remnant and men and Faunus are at our mercy, I will do everything in my power to make you, lord of all Grimm. Alpha of Alphas. You will rule all Grimm, while I rule all men.' He outstretched his hand. 'What say you?'

Wolf stared at him closely as he considered his words, though not the words Vicitor wanted him to consider. _Others like myself…_ 'Come, let us be your pack, my son.' Vicitor said, hand still outstretched.

* * *

Raider blinked as he closed the door to the lamp shop behind him, watching Drake closely.

'Where's the shop owner?' he asked as he approached the counter, the sound of wood against wood created by the cane he had with him. Drake had to swallow a lump in his throat before taking in a shallow breath and speaking. _Good, he doesn't recognise me._

'The Genie is in the back getting my order.' Drake said, with emphasis on "Genie" to get across the fact that he was a mercenary like Raider, hoping to coax any information that might be useful against the cult.

Raider just grunted as he leaned his back against the counter, facing Drake. 'Who're you working for, errand boy?' Raider said, smirking to himself as Drake slowly found more of his nerve returning.

'I'm actually here to get something for a contract,' he lied. '-the rest is classified.' He said sternly, establishing his authority in the process.

Raider chuckled to himself. 'You're in-over your head, kid. Mercenary work is for the big leagues. You'd be better off getting a place at one of them Huntsmen Academies.'

Just then, Drake heard the crackle of static in his earpiece communicator before Abraham's voice came on. _'Guys, I think I've found Ripper. I'm moving in to intercept. Horizon, keep an eye on Wolf for me while I'm gone.'_

'I've been at this for years. I'm more than qualified.' Drake said with a glare, playing the part of the immoral mercenary perfectly. Plus, he was starting to get on Drake's nerves.

'_Guys, I think I spotted the creepy gal from yesterday.'_ He heard Nathan say from over the communications link. _'She seems to have moved around behind some of the shops. I'm moving to intercept.'_

'That's cute, under whose mentorship? Or are you the kind that's too scared to work by yourself and make your own name?' Drake didn't reply, refusing to speak in case he let something important slip. After a moment, Raider spoke up again. 'What's your name?' he asked, causing Drake to pause for a second before he replied confidently with one of his covers.

'Alex.' It was technically his middle name, so he felt comfortable going around by it. 'And you must be the infamous Raider.'

'_Do you need backup?'_ Abraham asked over the communicator.

'_No, I want to find out what this is about first.'_ Nathan replied, sounding very distant.

Raider chuckled once before replying. 'My reputation precedes me. You look familiar yourself, but I don't know that name. Look, kid. I've been at this long enough to know when someone's lying about their real name.'

'_Should I be worried?'_ Rachel's voice suddenly chirped.

'_Yes.'_ He heard Abraham say after a pause.

'Now, unless you've got something to hide, what's your real name?' he asked menacingly as he took a single step closer to Drake.

Drake was starting to get worried now. _He saw through that quickly, and he recognises me…what next? _As if by luck, the Genie re-entered the shop with his hands in his pockets, facing Raider with a thin smile. 'And what is your wish?'

'Hello, Genie.' Raider greeted, dipping his head slightly for a moment before continuing. 'Word on the street is that you've got some of the finest Salt in Remnant.'

The Genie chuckled for a moment before his facial expression turned to one of determination. 'Are we talking vintage or fresh?'

'Oh, we're talking fresh. I'd also like as much of the freshest Meat you've got to go with it, and I'm going to need it delivered to this location.' Raider said with a devilish smirk as he handed a piece of paper to the Genie.

The Genie interlaced his fingers as he took a slow step backwards to the backdoor he had just come through. 'Let me sort out this gentleman's order before I get back to you with our choices.' He simply said as he disappeared once again.

Raider turned back to Drake immediately, still expecting a reply. 'Alex is my name.' he said, trying to keep up his confident demeanour, while also appearing nervous on purpose to make Raider think he had an edge.

He seemed unsatisfied with the answer at first, but grunted and seemed to give up on it. Drake allowed a shallow sigh of relief when he noticed something else. _Raider doesn't use a cane… _'Nice staff, where'd you get it?' he inquired.

Raider held it up before chuckling again. 'Got it off a Huntsman. It is quite nice, huh?'

'Yeah.' Drake murmured. _Abraham's gonna like this…_he thought as another thought clicked in his mind. 'What's a solo mercenary like you need so much firepower for?'

Raider raised an eyebrow at the question. 'They're for an employer. The rest is classified.' He said with a smirk.

_It was worth a try._ 'Fair enough.' He said, thinking for a moment. 'Ok, look.' He said, catching Raider's attention. 'You saw through me. I haven't been at this line of work for a while, and I've run out of contacts. I need something to fall back on and…do you think your employer is still hiring?' he said, trying to sound desperate, but not too desperate.

Raider gave him a bemused look before shaking his head. 'Boy, you do not want to work for my employer. The stuff that he does is a little too heavy for someone of your age.'

'Why not?' he challenged. 'I'm in it for the money, and if your employer has the Lien to buy some of the finest the Genies have to offer, what's so wrong with working under him even if he has strange requests?'

'You want my advice?' Raider said with a cocky sneer. 'Stay out of Vale. From what I've seen, it's gonna get messy, real soon.'

Drake paused, considering this. 'Why?'

Just then, the Genie returned behind the counter and held out a small, circular device in his hand. 'Here you are, sir. One of the finest emitters I have in storage.' He said as he placed it on the counter for Drake to inspect. It was only slightly bigger than his thumb, but seemed quite advanced. 'Now, maybe if you follow me and this other gentleman, I could interest you in some-' the Genie was cut off by a loud explosion that rocked the store slightly, causing all the suspended lamps to swing from side to side.

'What the hell was that?' Raider said in a near-yell. He immediately seemed to have forgotten about the Genie in favour of going outside. Drake followed, pocketing the emitter as he did.

'Hey, you need to pay for that!' he heard the Genie shout as he quickly exited the building. He slowed to a stop outside the shop as he saw smoke rising into the sky from further down the street. Citizens and mercenaries were taking up arms against one another while shopkeepers were packing away their goods and chasing down thieves that had the gall to snatch something from their table in the confusion.

Further down the street, the sound of fighting was getting louder, and closer. _Please don't tell me…_Drake's worries were confirmed when he saw Abraham rounding the corner as a spray of bullets hit the ground where he had just stood.

'Hunter.' Raider said in between grit teeth as he pulled out his double-bladed scythe weapon and flicking it outwards, snapping the blades to their full length and turning the weapon into something more akin to a double-bladed staff.

_As good a timing as it'll get, I suppose. _He thought as he pulled out the knife he had concealed in the belt on his hip and rushed forward to snatch Abraham's wooden staff out of Raider's hand, turning on one foot as he did to quickly jam the knife into Raider's shoulder.

'What do you think-' he didn't bother to listen to the rest of Raider's angry shouts as he approached Abraham, yelling to get his attention over the gunfire and mayhem surrounding them. Abraham turned to look at him after ducking behind a stall, calling out to toss the staff to him.

Drake did so, while activating a Ward to block a shower of bullets that Trickshot sent his way. Apparently, the other two mercenaries were in some kind of all-out brawl with every other armed person in the marketplace, so only gave half a mind about Drake and Abraham. Grabbing the pistol out of the hand of a dying man on the street, Drake dove towards the stall that Abraham was hiding behind. _This day is not going as planned at all._

'What happened?' he shouted, though he had a rough idea of what he should expect as a response.

'Well, I found Ripper.' Abraham replied, loading a Dust Crystal that he took from the top of the stall into his staff before firing a shot at a man with a broadsword charging towards them.

'I was this close to finding out the extent of their supply!' he shouted, emptying the pistol over the top of the stall before discarding it. 'Then you had to be the hero!'

'Why didn't you tell me how much illegal activity was going on down here?' Abraham yelled back. 'I walked into a Faunus Fight, for God sake!'

'You compromised the mission!' not thinking too much about how Abraham didn't know about the underground activity going on here. 'What do you have to show for that?'

'Raider!' he suddenly shouted, bringing Drake's attention back to the angry mercenary charging towards them with his weapon pointed outwards to impale one of them.

Both Drake and Abraham quickly rolled to opposite sides as Raider drove the serrated blade of his now-twinblade into the wooden stall, before dragging it up and splitting the side of the stall in half.

Drake quickly drew another one of his knives while Abraham clashed with Raider using his staff. Raider anticipated every jab and swing that Abraham sent his way, parrying with ease. It was only when Drake took a few stabs and cuts at Raider did it look like he was actually trying to keep up with the two of them. He swapped back and forth in between parrying the two of them for a few seconds before he twirled his scythe-twinblade, causing the blades at the ends to pivot where they met the metal shaft and lock back into a pair of scythe blades.

Without missing a step, Raider used the end of one scythe blade to hook around Abraham's staff and pull it towards him. The action caused Abraham to lose his grip on the weapon as it sailed over Raider's head.

Diving out of the way of another flurry of swipes, Drake took the opportunity to cover Abraham while trying to kill Raider while his focus was diverted.

However, Raider had not forgotten about Drake and parried his attack with ease. Their blades clashed for several seconds, with Raider having the clear advantage because of his weapon's reach, before a misstep caused Drake to bring his hand up a second too late. The kunai dagger was knocked out of Drake's hand and he was assaulted with a devastating spin-attack from Raider.

He was only saved from getting some very nasty cuts by his Wards and his Aura, but was still knocked to the floor by the devastating flourish, with Raider standing on top of him and jamming one of his blades into Drake's throat.

'I remember you now.' Raider said through grit teeth, the bloodlust clear in his eyes as Drake took note of how his shoulder wound was not bleeding, likely due to his Aura.

Drake was sure that should have been the end of it-no clear escape presented while Raider looked down on him like a wounded deer, until they both turned towards the sound of Abraham shouting to get their attention. In his hands he held two halves of his staff with the barrels aimed towards them.

He fired them both simultaneously, launching two bolts of ice at Raider, which he tried to block with the shaft of his weapon. In doing so, he was blown off his feet and into the wooden stall that Drake and Abraham had hidden behind moments ago, splintering the hardwood while leaving a trail of ice in its wake.

Abraham quickly reattached the two ends of his staff before rushing over to offer to help Drake to his feet. This time, Drake accepted the hand as he put his own to Abraham's shoulder once he was able to stand on his own.

'Thanks.' He said, looking over his shoulder to form another Ward with his hand to block several stray shots from the firefight going on a few feet away.

'No problem.' Abraham said as his raven flew closer to him and squawked several times.

'Where is she?' Abraham asked, looking back and forth before they both heard someone calling Abraham's name.

They sprinted towards the voice to find Rachel batting away mercenaries with Abraham's axe. 'Rachel!' he shouted, catching her attention as he tackled one of the mercenaries to the ground. She tossed the axe to him after freeing herself from a mercenary that tried to grapple the axe out of her hands.

She turned to Drake as she tossed him The Nightingale and the Ursa's Claws. Attaching the Claws to his belt, he turned back to her. 'Where's my mask?'

She looked at him, puzzled. 'Did you ask me to bring it? No!' she said before turning around to deliver a left hook to a man that was sneaking up behind her.

'Fine!' he shouted back before turning to Abraham. 'Raider was making a deal with one of the weapon dealers before you started the fighting, so we have to assume the other mercenaries did the same. I need you to go after Ripper while I stay on Raider. Nathan can take care of Trickshot while-'

It was then that Abraham seemed to realise that they hadn't heard from Nathan in a while, which Drake also realised as he tapped his communicator. 'Nathan, what's your status?' he waited for a reply, but none came. 'Nathan, where are you? What's going on?' he waited for another two seconds, before no reply came through.

'Horizon, what's your status? Do you still have Wolf's position?' Abraham asked into his own communicator shortly after Drake.

'I lost him in the crowd fleeing the market, and when I tried to follow him I was cut off by two mercs that recognised me.' He said as a few gunshots could be heard over his side of the communications link. 'I've got company…get back to you as soon as I can.'

'Rachel, you tagged us all with trackers, right? Can you locate Nathan and Wolf's positions?' Abraham asked frantically. The girl nodded her head before pulling out a touchpad and accessing it. Just then, Drake heard the sound of a rocket being fired. Turning to see whether it was coming towards them or not, he formed his rectangular Ward just seconds before it hit them, the stopping force of the two inch-thick wall of Aura a feat on its own.

'How did this turn into an all-out brawl?' Drake asked over his shoulder as he shot the man that fired the rocket at them twice.

'I'll explain later,' Abraham said as he looked at the touchpad with Rachel. '-but right now, Nathan seems to be staying still a few buildings down, while Wolf…' Abraham didn't finish his sentence until Drake spoke up.

'Wolf what?'

'Wolf…is a tad bit further away.' Abraham admitted, looking rather concerned.

Drake was overcome with what was going on in that moment, unable to think. He eventually stilled his mind and began prioritising the mission objectives. 'Ok, we'll worry about Wolf later. We'll go see if Nathan's in trouble while figuring out where Raider and the others must have disappeared to.'

'I'll coordinate with the other Huntsmen to see if we can get the masses under control and capture a few mercenaries.' Rachel said with a nod as she turned away from the two, leaving them to their own devices.

Abraham was still for a moment before taking off in a sprint, telling his raven to search for the two mercenaries while Drake followed shortly after.

They closed in on the store where Nathan's tracker was indicated he was supposed to be, which coincidentally, also happened to be a lamp shop. Dodging stray bullets from citizens and mercenaries alike, they burst in through the door of the shop, only to find Nathan lying in a pool of his own blood.

Abraham rushed to turn his body over to check for a pulse. Upon overturning Nathan's body, they found that he had a deep gash in his neck, his eyes still wide open in shock and mouth still open-likely from having taken his last breath. 'No pulse, he's dead.' Abraham said solemnly. 'We are in so much trouble when we get back to Beacon.'

Drake sighed at the setback, crouching by Nathan's body to close his eyes. _Stare tranquilli, compagno._ He prayed silently. He didn't like Nathan too much, or rather, had, but he respected him as a fighter, and someone who made a name for himself. 'Where's the Genie?' Drake asked, already back to his feet as he faintly heard the sound of an engine start up.

He immediately made a rush for the backdoor behind the counter, clambering over the counter top. He burst through the backdoor to find a large garage with crates of illegal goods and lamps lining the walls, but Drake didn't pay it much mind as he saw Ripper close the shutters on the back of a truck parked in the garage while flipping him off with his free hand.

Drake followed the truck out of the open garage door and watched it speed down the street after making a hard right, followed closely by several other trucks likely belonging to the other illegal dealers who didn't want to bribe their way out of an arrest. For a while, Drake was tempted to take a few shots at it in hopes of hitting Ripper through the shutter door, but thought against it while he looked down the ironsight of his halberd-rifle.

Instead, he took note of the license plate on the truck-not that it would be much help, but every effort counted-before rushing back to the front of the store.

'That was Ripper. He got away with the Genie's truck full of weapons.' He said, catching Abraham's attention. 'My guess is that Raider and The Old Eclipse are grabbing whatever weapons they could get their hands on before…all this.' He said, gesturing outside, where gunfire could still be heard.

'Then what do we do?' Abraham asked.

'We…' Drake hesitated, thinking the plan over one more time. 'The only option we've got left is to find out which lamp shop their getting the weapons from and destroying their supply.'

'Sounds like a plan.' Abraham muttered under his breath.

'This means we'll have to search the back of every lamp shop we come across. If we see any tech that seems familiar …'

'We blow up their supply.'

'Or deny it.' Drake also pointed out as they exited the store. Drake was already thinking of a few things he could do with the advanced Atlesian technology.

'What do you mean?' Abraham asked, but Drake didn't reply as he saw the lone figure, clothed in tattered black robes standing perfectly still in the centre of the street, facing them with his bone-white bird mask.

'He's here to slow us down.' Drake said, more to himself than Abraham. 'Go, I'll handle him.'

Abraham only spared Drake one glance before taking off, his body glowing a black colour as he seemed to reach up to thirty kilometres per hour, in the span of a second.

As Abraham got closer, patterns and symbols along Andrew's black latex gloves began to glow a dark red as he rubbed his palms together to form two clouds of smoke around his hands, though the smoke looked more solid than it normally should.

He hurled several balls of smoke in Abraham's direction, which he dodged and blocked with his axe before Drake fired off an entire clip at the man. Andrew didn't bother to dodge at all, seeming to just take the bullets and stagger slightly with every shot. This was enough of a distraction for Abraham to take a few slashes at the man as he passed him.

Again, he only seemed to stagger with the blows as he watched Abraham sprint past him for a few seconds, before slowly turning to face Drake, gloves beginning to glow again.

Drake took up a fighting stance as Andrew began walking towards him at a leisurely pace, all the while throwing balls of smoke towards him. Drake was able to block the first three balls of smoke with his halberd, before one hit him square in the face. The impact was just like getting hit in the face by a loosely-packed ball of sand, but the smell of the concentrated ball of smoke was suffocating and caused him to gasp for breath, trying to get rid of the smoke in his lungs while trying to get fresh air in at the same time.

His vision was blurred as another ball was hurled into his face. Drake immediately formed a Ward to block several more of the projectiles as he regained a steady breathing pattern.

He then charged forward with his Ward still active, blocking all the incoming rounds of smoke as he closed the distance between them. Andrew suddenly stopped throwing smoke in favour of reaching into his tunic and pulling out a syringe filled with a black substance.

Dissipating the Ward, Drake clashed his halberd with the masked man, his blades meeting their mark more than once. However, none of his attacks seemed to deter Andrew as he made few attempts to block the attacks-only staggering him. Andrew, in turn, was faster than Drake had anticipated as he constantly made lightning-fast jabs with his syringe.

Drake had to constantly backpedal and dodge backwards out of the reach of the syringe, very much afraid of what was inside it. Instead, Drake decided to use the reach of his weapon and its ranged function to his advantage, firing off a shot that clipped Andrew in the shoulder and caused him to take a step back to regain his balance. While Andrew was slightly stunned, Drake delivered an overhead smash with his halberd, hoping to do…something that would stop the man's relentless onslaught.

However, Andrew has seemed to recover from the shot and jumped backwards to dodge the strike. The Nightingale lodged itself within the ground, which Drake used to his advantage by swinging himself towards Andrew, using The Nightingale's fixed position as a pivoting point.

While he was in the air, he drew both of his Ursa's Claws and fired both of them at point blank as he gave Andrew a vicous leap-kick. The man raised his hands too slow to block the shots, sending him flying backwards and into the wooden support of one of the shops without Drake's foot even touching him.

He remained motionless the entire time as Drake yanked Nightingale out of the ground, but just to be safe, Drake emptied all of the shrapnel rounds in his Claws as he passed the masked man. Each shot caused a slight spasm and a black powder to seep from him, but no blood.

_What are you? _Drake thought for a split second as he moved onward to regroup with Abraham as several of the buildings further down the road began to explode and catch fire.

* * *

The entire garage quickly went up in flames as Abraham fired off two explosive rounds from his Nightwither at the truck full of weapons, causing a chain-reaction to occur and destroy the entire truck, and its contents. It did help that Abraham had primed a couple of grenades once he found the box they were being kept in, blowing bits of the truck into the wall opposite the row of shops.

The rest of the lamp shop was beginning to catch fire as Abraham exited out the back entrance to the store. After having tried to find which supplier was providing for The Old Eclipse, Abraham had just decided to destroy every store containing illegal goods.

After moving over to the next garage, Abraham was immediately assaulted by a storm of bullets from Trickshot. The mercenary was guarding the truck in that garage while the Genie in there methodically loaded crate after crate into the truck. The bullets that Trickshot fired seemed to curve impossibly through the air, and right in the direction of Abraham.

The mercenary held a sub-machine gun in each hand and continued to spray bullets and Dust rounds at Abraham even after he hid behind the wall of the building.

Abraham was about to pop out again to take a few shots at Trickshot-or perhaps rush him head on, when he heard the sound of a bolt and hatch being slapped into place. He turned his attention further down the backstreet, where he saw Raider carrying a bronze-coloured heavy machinegun, with the length of bullets extending down to his hip.

'Run, boy!' Raider jeered as he began firing a barrage of rounds the size of his thumb at Abraham. Realising that they would tear through his Aura, Abraham quickly scurried into the closest garage and hid with his back against the wall.

'You're all clear, Trick!' he heard the mercenary shout. 'Finish loading up and let's get out of here!' Considering his options and how the narrow hallway would minimise his ability to dodge the onslaught of bullets that Raider would send his way, he thought against his base nature to wait out a danger and charged forward.

Holding up Nightwither in front of him, Abraham was able to block a few bullets as the rest cut into his Aura. Fuelled onward on Patriot's Will alone, Abraham used his forward momentum to run along the wall of the row of buildings towards Raider. This sudden change of approach completely threw off Raider's aim.

Using his height to his advantage, Abraham leapt down on Raider, axe ready to cleave him in two. Raider was able to react quickly enough to raise the machine gun to block the strike, but it caused the heavy weapon to be batted to the floor.

Raider wasted no time in drawing his double-scythe and spinning it in front of him to parry and bat away any attack Abraham tried to send his way. After slashing his axe from nearly every direction in the hopes that one of them would break Raider's surprisingly sturdy guard, Abraham suddenly heard the roar of an engine and turned around to see what it was.

In the brief moment of distraction where Abraham watched the truck exit the garage, Raider quickly used the opportunity to deliver a heavy blow to Abraham's back, knocking him to the floor.

_Dammit! Gotta stay in the fight! _He thought as he held his axe above his head to block a heavy swipe from Raider. The attack was able to knock Nightwither out of the way for Raider to finish Abraham off with a decapitating strike, but the attack never came as Doombeak suddenly swooped in to scratch and jab Raider with his beak and talons.

The bird was like a black bolt of lightning as he delivered attack after attack while Raider struggled to hit such a small and nimble target.

'Gah, stupid bird!' Raider shouted as Abraham got back to his feet and gave Doombeak a telepathic 'Thank you' before turning his attention back to the truck that was now attempting to speed down the back alley away from them.

With Raider distracted, Abraham decided to pursue the truck while constantly dodging and deflecting several shots from Trickshot, who now held a pistol and was standing in the opening of the back of the truck while firing at Abraham.

Abraham returned fire with several shotgun rounds from his axe before Trickshot finally pulled down the shutters to the truck when he realised that the shots that missed him were hitting the crates of high-grade ammunition.

Soon, the accelerating speed of the truck was too fast for Abraham to keep up with, even with his Semblance. He tried to take out the wheels of the vehicle when he heard the sound of metal being dragged across the floor coming from behind him.

Raider was winding up for a lethal upward slash, which Abraham easily dodged by rolling to the left. He was getting back to his feet to reengage Raider when a loud explosion rocked the ground, throwing Abraham to the floor.

He turned his head towards the source of the explosion, and found that the truck full of weapons had crashed into another that was just exiting its own garage. The collision had somehow caused the ammunition to explode, leaving both of the trucks nothing more than hot chunks and sheets of metal.

He turned back to face Raider, who was already on his feet and watching the explosion with wide eyes. Taking advantage of the dazed state Raider was in, Abraham jumped back to his feet and stood in a fighting stance.

The brown-haired mercenary's attention was suddenly brought back to him. Holding his double scythe in both hands, Raider seemed to pause for a moment before taking a more relaxed stance, the angry scowl never leaving his face.

'Well, I've had fun, but I have a job to do.' he said as he pulled a grenade from his belt, primed it, and threw it at the blonde-haired Hunter-trainee. Abraham dove backwards just as the grenade exploded in a blast of ice shards. Abraham considered himself damn lucky that none of the shards hit him, but they now formed a large wall that prevented Abraham from pursuing the mercenary. In a matter of seconds, a huge ice wall stood in between him and Raider, and Abraham could feel his blood boiling for allowing the lawless mercenary to get away again.

He turned his head around at the sound of footsteps-expecting them to be Trickshot's, only to find himself facing Drake with his back to the explosion. His hood was drawn down as he wiped a layer of sweat that had developed on his forehead.

'Trickshot's dead; got caught in the explosion.' He reported as he sheathed his halberd back into its hold on his back.

'Raider got away again.' Abraham reported, slightly out of breath. 'What-'

'Did you cause all these explosions?' Drake suddenly interjected, his facing bearing a stern expression.

'Uh, yeah.' Abraham said while still trying to fill his lungs with air.

Drake just sighed and put his hand to his face, pinching his forehead. 'Ok, we'll move past that. We need to go find Wolf.'

Abraham gestured to what was left of the two trucks. 'And was that you?'

'Yeah, unlike you I don't just go blowing up high-grade weaponry. Not that I won't if it comes down to it.'

Abraham was about to reply, when a crackle over his communicator caught his attention. 'Team DAWN, what happened down there? They heard Professor Ozpin ask.

'Sir, we were able to intercept some of the Old Eclipses suppliers, and I was able to destroy several shops selling black market goods.' Abraham looked to Drake, trying to identify what expression Drake was wearing at the moment. _Frustration…Annoyance…Resentment?_

'And what became of your two teammates?' Ozpin asked with a bit more aggression to his voice.

'Wolf got away again. And Nathan…Nathan…We're in good shape to go after Wolf, sir.' Abraham said, trying to dodge the answer he knew Ozpin wanted, just because he couldn't bear the shame. 'We can get him and-'

'No.' Ozpin said in his calm, collected voice. To Abraham, the sound was more like the wind picking up speed, soon to become a hurricane. 'You and Drake stay where you are. Teams of Huntsmen are already securing the site and taking care of the civilian casualties.'

_Ci-civilian…casualties? _Abraham thought, the dots in his mind connecting. Because he failed to act with discretion, the panic that he caused in the Faunus Fight must have injured several innocents as the firefights and mass retreat occurred. _I didn't think this through. This isn't some slaver's hideout in on the outskirts of Vale. This is right in the centre of the Kingdom!_

'You and your team leader will be brought back to Beacon for a…thorough debriefing, before we decide on our next course of action.' Abraham recognized the tone of Ozpin's voice.

'Ozpin, please. Me and Drake can-'

'You operate as Team DAWN. Last time I checked, Teams were supposed to be comprised of four members. You and Drake are unfit for duty.' Ozpin said as the communications link was cut off.

'O-ozpin?' Abraham asked, hoping beyond all hope that Ozpin would consider opening communications once more to tell him that he was going to give him one more chance, to tell him that it was ok to fail sometimes.

To tell him…something.

Unfortunately, no message came through. 'Well, this is not turning out great for either of us.' Drake remarked, seeming almost as crestfallen as Abraham.

'It's over, Drake. Ozpin's gonna have me sent to prison for who-knows how long, and you're going to be executed.' Abraham said, his voice cracking from how defeated and helpless he felt.

'At least you get to live.' Drake replied, nonchalant as he rummaged through a pocket in his outfit. 'Luckily, I have this.' He said as he held up a small, circular object, which he opened like an old pocketwatch in order to place a small shard of an Electric Dust crystal into.

'What is it?' Abraham asked.

Drake looked up at Abraham for a moment before turning his attention back to the device. 'It's a short-range emitter. With the Dust crystal inside, it should fry the tracker in me.'

'You're running?' Abraham asked as the second floor of a nearby building exploded.

'Like you said,' Drake began as he primed the charge on his emitter. '-I'm gonna be executed. And I'm not ready for that yet.'

'They'll hunt you down!'

'They can try. I've been hunted down my whole life; I know how to take care of myself.'

_Living to fight another day…I'm going to regret this. _Abraham thought as he made up his mind. 'Wait!' he shouted.

_Abraham, do you truly believe that you can trust this man? _He heard Doombeak's voice in his head, but chose not to respond as the bird landed on his shoulder, looking into at him with those pitch-black eyes. 'Please, let me follow you.' He began, trying his best not to beg while begging to the mercenary. 'I-I've got nowhere left to go. Beacon was my only home.' He said as he felt a lump form in his throat. Drake had confused and wide-eyed expression on his face. 'I just need a place I can lay low for a few days, two days! Then, I'll be out of your way for good. We'll never have to see each other again.'

Whether it was the dust in the air, or the storm of emotions beneath Abraham's skin, he began to feel the beginnings of tears start to form in his eyes. The black-haired mercenary failed to notice this, but was still quite shocked at Abraham's pleas-which was completely understandable. All Abraham was asking of him was to stick together for a couple more days; he had to be capable of at least that.

Drake let out a drawn out sigh and shook his head as a couple of Bullheads flew over them. 'I can't believe I'm saying this; stand closer.'


	34. Chapter 30

**A/N: Wow, last chapter won out for longest chapter yet with more than 7K words. But with this new chapter, we draw a close to the unofficial first volume in the DAWN story. There is still plenty more to come, and I hope the ending to this chapter will excite in regards to what will come with time.**

**With that, I am also proud to announce the new story me and the rest of the team have been working on: Team MSTT. This isn't going to be the official title, but all you need to know is that it's set in the same universe as DAWN, and will draw references to DAWN, but will take place parallel with the actual RWBY story and plot. The members of Team MSTT also directly and indirectly help Cinder with her plan which was unveiled in Volume 3, so get ready for our take on how it played out behind the scenes.**

Without a Trace

_Are we still being followed?_ Abraham asked Doombeak through their mental connection as he followed Drake down the alley they had turned into.

_No. They seem to still be investigating the wreckage. _Doombeak replied as Abraham looked to the sky, now made dark-orange and purple by the setting sun, to see his trustworthy raven flying overhead. He let out a sigh before speaking to the mercenary. 'We're in the clear.'

The mercenary only gave a curt nod as they continued at a brisk pace through the streets of Vale to one of the more…sketchy parts of the Kingdom. The sirens of ambulances and police cars could still be heard from where they were.

They were able to make a speedy getaway from several of the police and Huntsmen by commandeering a van that used to belong to the supplier of one of the Genies that they hadn't destroyed. The man was a little reluctant to give them his vehicle, with the back of the van still filled with his goods, but gave him the keys when Drake threatened to lock him in the van with them. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Huntsmen and police had formed a tight perimeter around the marketplace and were intent on chasing whatever or whoever left the perimeter.

Because of that, they had been locked in a car-chase with several police cars for several city blocks, before a Bullhead joined in the pursuit. Their escape vehicle wasn't an option anymore, hopelessly outnumbered and being relentlessly hounded.

They needed something to cover their tracks; something big that would grab the attentions of the police and Huntsmen more than two fugitives on the run. 'We're coming up on an alley. When we drive by it, I want you to make a dive for it. I'll be right behind you.' He remembered Drake telling him.

He didn't explain any further than that, but he didn't need to. Pulling out another dagger from his boot, he stabbed it into the seat behind him before pulling on the ring at the end of it. He then got into a crouched position where he previously had sat, never taking his hand off the wheel, but taking both feet off the pedals to prepare to launch himself from the vehicle.

Abraham had one hand on the door handle, ready to open it at a moment's notice. The alley came into view parallel to the van and they leapt out at almost the same time. A second barely past by after they had leapt from the vehicle before it exploded in a fiery inferno. The ammunitions and weapons in the back of the van combusted into a multitude of variously coloured flames that knocked over several pedestrians and shattered most of the windows in a eight metre radius.

After that, they had continued their getaway on foot as the police tried to calm people down and began examining the wreckage. He even saw some Judicators dropping in from the Bullhead that had been chasing them.

'Do you think the emitter worked?' Drake asked, bringing Abraham back to the present. There actually seemed to a bit of doubt in his voice for a change.

'Well, seeing as the police and Huntsmen have lost us, I'd jolly well think so.' Abraham tried to say in his usual jeering voice, but found it quite hollow as he still felt like his heart and throat were on fire from what had happened.

They continued to the end of the alleyway they were walking through before turning left on the sidewalk they came to. 'We should be close.' Drake said, looking over his shoulder for a split second before turning forward. 'We just have to-' he stopped mid-sentence as they both watched a couple of police cars turn into the street they were in.

They both immediately backtracked as fast as they could to the alley. Once in the alley, Drake pressed himself up against the wall of a building-blending into the shadows quite well, while Abraham took cover behind a trash can. _Not the most fragrant of odours I've had the displeasure the smell today, but I guess it beats…hang on. Why am I thinking about this? The emitter's failed and we're cornered like rats, and all I can think about is…the…smell… _He thought, confused, as the cars drove right by them.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Abraham stood back up and leaned against the wall of the building. 'I can't believe I'm running like some kind of fugitive.' He murmured to himself.

'You are.' Drake replied as he continued out onto the sidewalk. 'And don't you dare blame me; you made the decision on your own.'

Abraham stumbled for a split second before falling in line behind him, matching his brisk pace. 'I never once said that this was your fault, or that you "dragged me into this".' He countered, although his tone was unconvincing at best.

'Well, from the way you pin almost every failure on me, I would've thought you'd do the same this time.' Drake said in a monotonous tone, though it was gruffer than usual.

Abraham thought on the words for a few moments, unable to feel that they were slightly true. 'I don't blame you without reason.' He defended.

Visibly slowing his pace, Drake walked on Abraham's left side as he talked. 'Then what makes this time so different?' a bit of venom in his voice.

'Because it was only the two of us.' He said after a moment. 'I can't expect you to be able to beat the enemy when they outnumber us as such, while making a move to flee in different directions.' He paused as he looked to his right palm before clenching it into a fist. 'I can't expect myself to do it, so why should I expect you to be able to do it?'

It sounded less cocky in his head, but Drake seemed to understand what he meant to say, giving him a weak glare before crossing the street. Walking along the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street, Abraham noticed that they were getting closer to the old shipyard that ferried goods to and fro a fishing village off the coast of Vale. The shipyard itself was situated on the bank of one of the rivers that flowed from The Emerald Forest and out to sea.

Abraham hadn't heard much from the village in a while, though._ There's a lot of nice people there…_

'Whatever happened to the bone-mask fellow, uh, Andrew?' Abraham asked, thinking for a moment to remember his name.

Drake's steps didn't falter as he replied. 'He was tough, I'll give him that. I'm not even sure if he was human.'

'What do you mean?' Abraham asked as they passed a beggar on the street. Out of habit, Abraham tossed him a Lien, and he bowed his head in thanks.

'When I shot him with my shrapnel rounds, there was no blood even though the shot blew a hole straight through him.' Drake explained as they rounded the corner of the sidewalk, the shipyard now in sight. 'Only this…black powder.'

'Did you touch it?' Abraham asked out of curiosity. None of this sounded familiar to him in any way, like nothing he had read in all the very thorough tomes in the Beacon library, or even unlikely rumours from some outlying village.

'Of course I didn't touch it!' Drake said like it was the most obvious thing in Vale. 'Anyway, I wouldn't be worried about him anymore. I emptied both barrels into his chest, so he won't be breathing anytime soon.'

Abraham nodded his head in agreement, not over killing the man, just that they wouldn't have to worry about the masked man seeking revenge against them. Continuing a little further downriver, they passed through the near-empty shipyard and walked straight towards an old three-storey factory building. Abraham wanted to start up another conversation, but didn't know what to say or ask.

_I still do not trust this man, Abraham. _He heard Doombeak in his head. Looking around, he saw the bird standing on top of a stop-sign, facing them.

_I wish I had more reason to trust him too. _Abraham replied, putting two fingers to his temple to focus on the mental link. _But, it gives me a chance to make up for what I've done. Not just to him, but to Ozpin._

_Do you really think the professor will show you no mercy? _Doombeak asked. It was clear from the tone of his voice that he honestly didn't know either, and Abraham couldn't blame him. Ozpin was an enigma that few people understood, but more often than not, he was right.

_I believe he's already shown me enough…I don't deserve anymore. _Abraham replied woefully as they entered the building.

_If you think so, then I will keep watch outside for the night…unless something comes up. _Abraham smiled to himself, knowing that he could count on the bird, even if Doombeak was unsure of himself.

_Thank you, my friend._ Abraham said as Doombeak disappeared from his field of vision as he entered the building. 'What is this place?'

Taking in the interior of the building after having passed through the entryway, which had two rusty doors supported by broken hinges, the inside of the building seemed to be filled with metal tables and long metal benches bolted to the ground. They were organised in an orderly fashion into four rows with seven columns. At the far end of the building was a large machine that looked like it produced and dispensed sheets of a textile fabric. Next to it was the impression of a machine, similar in shape and size to a blast furnace. Everything was only faintly visible thanks to the fading light of the last moments of twilight, which flittered in through the large, dirty windows like rats creeping into a cellar.

What was most apparent about the inside of the abandoned factory was the enormous symbol on the left wall, the symbol of a white snowflake.

'This used to be a clothes factory owned by the Schnees.' He began, his voice echoing in the empty building. 'They produced all the uniforms for their workers here. Then, when war broke out, they altered it to make armour and uniforms laced with Dust.' Drake explained with a hint of resentment to his voice as he continued walking with greater strides, weaving in between the workbenches. 'Eventually, when the larger factories sprung up further inland, they closed down this place and just…left it here.' He murmured, more to himself than to Abraham.

'Did…' Abraham began as he saw Drake stop to put a hand to his head, cringing in pain. 'Are you ok?'

'Haven't…had…my Recall suppressant yet.' He said, regaining his composure. 'I have some here, I'll be fine.' He said, waving Abraham off as he pushed through the steel door.

They entered a room filled with giant pipes that ran across the ceiling, walls, and even through the ceiling. There were no windows in the room, so it was pitch black for a moment before Drake ran his hands along the wall and grabbed a three-foot long baton. He clicked a switch on it, which lit up the baton in a brilliant greenish light. In the greenish light, they could now see valves on some of the pipes controlled whatever was flowing through them, while they all fed back to what looked like a regulator or storage tank. Looking through the glass porthole of the tank, Abraham found that the pipes had long since run dry as Drake walked forward purposefully before turning right.

When Abraham rounded the corner, he found Drake standing in front of a metre-wide pipe with a hole large enough for a person to squeeze in. Drake swung himself into the pipe and began crawling on his hands and knees. Abraham, not wanting to get left in the dark, followed suit and found that the pipe still smelled of mildew, even though it had been dry for at least a decade now.

They crawled through the pipework for several seconds, turning left and right at different intersections before Drake spoke in a hushed voice. 'Stop!' the size of the pipe they were in was enough to carry Drake's message loud and clear.

He took a moment to adjust himself, before disappearing from Abraham's sight. It took him a moment to realise that he had dropped down the pipeway. Peering over the edge of the drop down, Abraham saw that Drake had landed on a grating and was standing by a circular hatch. Unlike the rest of the compound, the hatch seemed new and shined faintly in the low light.

'Don't drop down until I say so.' Drake said as he turned the handle of the hatch. After three turns, he pushed it open and walked through it, signalling Abraham to join him with his hand.

Shifting himself into place as Drake had, Abraham gripped the rim of his tophat as he slid down the rusty pipe and hit the grating with as soft thump.

Entering the dark chamber Abraham had to squint slightly as his eyesight cast in the direction of Drake and the light-stick he held. He flipped some switches on a fuse-box before the lights came on in the large basement.

He had never been in a mercenary's lair before. He had his fair share of experiences being locked in a makeshift dungeon and cellars, but never anything like this. He had thought that it would be filled with trophies like the weapons and heads of Drake's victims, with a long rack of weapons that covered an entire wall, while bulls-eyes and training dummies covered another. Maybe he might have a table where he counted his riches or a large bed with an assortment of foul and pleasant smells.

Abraham got close with his guesses in some places, while others were completely wrong.

It was much like a large basement. Abraham estimated it spanned seven-metres wide and fourteen-metres long. At one end was a dark green, two-person couch that faced a small television, with a computer set up next to it on a table on one end and a mini-fridge on the other. On the wall next to the computer was a map of Vale, but it was covered in writing and pictures. Next to that was a long metal table, covered in a tarp and an assortment of weapon parts. Several boxes were scattered on the floor next to it, and Abraham could only assume by the diamond-shaped symbol on them that they were filled with Dust. On the other end of the basement, a couple of mattresses were laid out, one black and one white. Against the wall next to it, several weapons were hung up on a metal rack by chains, while a simple dart-target was hung directly opposite to it. There seemed to be a stairway down to this underground basement from there, but it had caved in and was completely blocked off.

'Nice place you got here.' He commented off-handed, but Drake just ignored it, moving past Abraham to push the hatch shut and locking it behind him. It sent a chill down Abraham's spine as he knew this meant there was no turning back.

It was probably for the best; anywhere else and Ozpin would be able to find him. Ozpin always seemed to have an eye or ear everywhere.

'What did you do back there?' Drake suddenly demanded, the outburst catching Abraham off guard. 'You were supposed to lay low and perform reconnaissance, not engage the enemy in rissa totale.'

'You're not exactly in the right either.' Abraham shot back. 'Why didn't you tell me that there was a Faunus Fight Club in the marketplace?' the question burned in Abraham's throat.

'It wasn't relevant to the mission!'

'Of course it was relevant to the mission. If we're going to arrest those…criminal scum in the Bazaar, then it helps to charge them with more felonies!'

'The plan was never to put them all away! You did more harm than good today!' Drake shouted as he slammed his fist into the stone wall.

'Why not? They're all in the wrong, just like you! What makes them so special?'

'Because the Kingdom would collapse without them!' Drake suddenly shouted, the words echoing off the walls of the basement as Abraham tried to grasp what he could mean.

'What?' he said in a hushed tone compared to the tone of voice they had been shouting in.

Drake stared at him for a few moments, seeming to be looking for any falseness in Abraham's word. He eventually sighed as he walked by Abraham. 'You really don't know?'

'Know what?' Abraham demanded this time. 'What "grand revelation" am I supposed to know?' he said, emphasising his words with air quotes.

Drake walked up to the metal table by the computer and tossed his sidearms on them. 'This Kingdom doesn't simply run on its own steam.' He said as he turned to face Abraham. 'Each Kingdom produces something that another wants.' He said in a calmer voice, like how Glynda used to explain complex problems and enigmas to Abraham. 'Vale needs the artillery and weaponry that Atlas produces. But, as peaceful as they say we are now, trade gets sketchy sometimes. It's when Atlas starts charging ridiculously high prices to fuel their damn war economy that groups like the Judicators need to turn to the black market.'

'They can't afford an Atlas-grade arsenal, so they go to the next best thing: cheaper, counterfeit Atlas-grade weaponry.' Abraham was stunned beyond belief by this. _No, there's no way. The Judicators would never turn to crime._

'I'm not sure if Ozpin planned to arrest every cell of illegal activity in The Hidden Bazaar, but I know for a fact that Beacon isn't above dealing in black market goods either.' Drake continued as he placed his halberd on the metal table.

'Y-you're lying!' Abraham half-shouted as he walked over to Drake's side for a face-to-face confrontation about this accusation. 'Ozpin would never partake in such illegal activity.'

Drake huffed as he began fiddling with his gloves. 'Don't believe me? Believe Nathan. He said it himself; when times got tough for him, he turned to the black market. I wouldn't be surprised if dozens of other villages did the same.'

Abraham wanted to retort immediately, but couldn't help but feel a hint of doubt. He looked away for a moment before turning back to face Drake. 'Why should I believe either of you?'

'I don't expect you to.' Drake said with a deadpan expression as he tossed his gloves onto the table and walked over to the mini-fridge. It was then that Abraham noticed a metallic-red ring on Drake's middle-finger. The ring bore the symbol of a bear's paw with four scratches in its centre. 'Want a drink?' he asked Abraham.

'N-no, I don't drink-' Drake opened the fridge.'-alcohol.'

He had expected to see bottles of expensive, likely stolen, whiskey or brandy in the fridge. Instead, the fridge was lined with cans of "People Like Grape" soda. Drake immediately grabbed one and broke the metal seal before taking a quick sip.

'I don't drink alcohol; it throws off my aim.' He said as he reached in and grabbed a small, plastic pill-bottle. 'Most snipers don't unless their off duty.' He said as he tried to open the lid, but ended up dropping the bottle. 'Merde!' he snapped in some foreign language as he bent down to pick up the bottle.

'Oh, t-then can I still have one?' he asked as he walked over to the dark-green couch and put his tophat on one of the cleaner cushions on it. Another thing he committed to memory was how all the cushions were white, and made of a different material to the rest of the couch.

'Sure.' Drake said after putting one of the pills in his mouth. Grabbing another can, he tossed it to Abraham as he plopped down on the couch.

He sat in silence after he had a quick sip, staring at the blank television as he contemplated more of the events that happened today.

'Nathan's really dead.' He mumbled quietly, but it caught Drake's attention.

'What?'

'Who do you think got to Nathan?' Abraham asked, much louder this time.

'Hard to say.' He stated as he moved to pull a chair out from under his workbench. 'It didn't look like he put up much of a fight, though.' Drake remarked, leading Abraham to think on how Nathan had died with one of his guns in his hand, while the other was still tucked away in his trousers.

'That girl probably got the drop on him before killing him.' Abraham thought to himself as he took off his hat, turning to watch Drake assemble more of his kunai knives. _What are we gonna do about them?_

A loud clatter of metal drew Abraham's attention back to Drake, who was now looking at him. 'I…guess I should tell you where you can…y'know.' He said as he got up and began walking to the other side of the basement. Abraham followed behind as he gestured towards one of the mattresses. 'You're ok with sleeping in Nicole's bed, right?'

'Well, if it's better than the floor…' Abraham said with a small eye-roll.

'There's some food in the fridge, so…help yourself I guess.' Drake said, sounding like he wanted to get over with this as quickly as possible.

'Help myself?' Abraham said with a smirk. 'And what if I take more than you wish me to?'

'You won't.' Drake said with a stern glare. 'Not unless you want to stay here.'

Abraham gave a sarcastic nod. 'Right, right.'

'Anyway, you can use the tools at the workbench to get ready.' Drake continued, before Abraham cut him off again.

'Get ready? For what?'

'You don't honestly think that I'll let you stay here for free, right?' Drake said with a slightly sinister chuckle. 'No, we'll lay low for a while. But once I think we're in the clear, you're going to follow me on a contract.' He said as he walked back over to the workbench to continue repairing his weapons.

Abraham stared at him for a second before replying. 'If you think I'm going to help you kill innocents-'

'Relax, I'll humour you this one time and pick a job that doesn't involve killing people.' Drake said as he began work on his scatterguns.

Abraham eyed Drake suspiciously, thinking that he should just contact Ozpin at some point when Drake fell asleep and turn him in, hoping that it would be enough to redeem himself, but thought against it. _Drake seems to trust me, I shouldn't betray it._

'Besides, we're going to need some extra money.' Drake said in a more serious tone, never turning to face Abraham.

'Why?'

Drake seemed like he was about to answer Abraham's question, but once again, Abraham was left to ponder in his tired state.

'I'll tell you tomorrow.'

* * *

The sun had completely set long before the two fugitives had settled down, and now the moon was rising steadily into the sky. A Huntsman-trainee and a mercenary, hunted by the kingdom that they used to call home. However, none of that mattered in one particular village, several kilometres from the Kingdom of Vale itself. The inhabitants of the village had gathered in the village's centre, where a large ceremony was being held.

At the centre of attention was Father Vicitor, as he trailed blood in a large circle around Wolf, who kneeled before the crowd before him. The people in the crowd wore black robes, with the symbol of a red, uneven ring emblazoned on their backs. Other members of the crowd wore various body armours, but still adorned the same symbol either on their upper arm or on their breast. Others still, wore the symbol as a metal band or cloth band around their arms. Some carried torches while others raised banners bearing the same symbol.

'On this night, we reintegrate one of our own that was thought to be lost to us. However, as he kneels before us, he proves that he is as resourceful as he is powerful, making him more than worthy to join us once more.' Father Vicitor addressed the crowd, his voice raising in tempo as he did. 'Let it also be known that any transgression that the Prodigal One has undertaken against any of you is to be absolved. Does anyone wish to say otherwise?' No reply came.

Father Vicitor looked back and forth from the crowd to Wolf before a toothy grin spread across his face while he turned to face a man wearing wrought-iron gauntlets standing beside him. 'It's ready, my son.'

The man took off his tricorne and gave Vicitor a curt bow. 'Yes, Father.' He muttered before putting the hat back on his head and raised his hand towards Wolf. His hand flashed a ghostly white for a moment before the ring of blood around Wolf began to catch fire.

Vicitor quickly stepped into one part of the ring, before being closed off by the fire that slowly spread across it. The flames only reached a foot high and produced a weak, blood-red glow. He then continued approaching Wolf's kneeling form until he was just one metre away.

'When I first saw you,' Vicitor began quietly.'-you were nothing more than a weak, fragile infant.' He said, pacing around Wolf as a pair of torch-bearers approached the circle. 'Now…now you are so much more than I could have ever imagined.'

Vicitor raised his hand as a red symbol appeared on his palm, the same symbol that most of the cultists wore on their robes. Holding his palm towards Wolf, he spoke. 'Do you swear your allegiance to this covenant? To forsake every other pact, creed and brotherhood before this? Do you swear to follow the guidance of the eclipse, and to walk under its dark light as we have?' With every sentence, the ring on Vicitor's palm seemed to glow brighter until its light reflected off Wolf's dark cowl.

There was a moment of pause as everyone awaited Wolf's answer. Arch-sister Emily was on the verge of hyperventilation as she watched the ceremony from amongst the crowd. Adjusting the single glove on her right hand that bore the Old Eclipse's symbol, she leaned forward ever so slightly, to hear the response of her soon-to-be brother. Emily, toyed with Jagged Fang, her dagger, in tense silence, just in case he betrayed them like he did the last time.

After what felt like hours had passed, Wolf finally uttered a single word.

'Yes.'

That was the signal for the torch-bearers to throw their torches into the two stone bowls that had been set up on either side of the ring of fire. The flames of the torches quickly spread and grew as they quickly burnt the hair and bones that had been placed in the bowls.

'Then forego your ferox robes!' Vicitor shouted triumphantly. As he did, the symbol on his palm glowed even brighter, and Wolf's cape and Murkspinner-weave armour disintegrated and was scattered to the wind, as if blown away by an intangible wind. Without it, Wolf's skin was bare to the surroundings. The tone of his skin was a pitch-black that started from his wolf-like legs. However, his skin tone gradually transformed from black to dark grey, to dusky grey, and finally to a pale white above his neck, blackened veins pulsating with his unnatural power.

'Forego your old robes,' the cultist leader continued, still holding his palm towards Wolf. '-and let the symbol of our covenant burn brightly once more!'

It was then Wolf felt a sensation like hot coal being pressed against his chest. Looking down, he saw the red eclipse ring begin to form on his chest. However, the ring that formed on his chest was broken and segmented into three pieces, rearranged to look like three slash marks.

The ring and the burning sensation was nothing new to Wolf. It had been there since he first awakened a Grimm, gradually fading over time. As time passed, he just forgot about it. At least now, he knew where it came from.

Maintaining his composure as the pain subsided, he craned his neck just in time to see Vicitor throw both his hands to either side, causing the smoke rising from the two bowls to suddenly break and rise into a torrent above Wolf. With a clap of black-cloaked man's hands, the torrent descended on Wolf, trapping him in a silent storm of black.

Despite the wind picking up from the small whirlwind surrounding Wolf, the flames of the ring never once diminished. Eventually, the swirl of black began to slow down and fade. Within it, Wolf now wore a new garb, fitted with a long cape that reached down to his ankles at full height. The cape had claws like that of a Beowulf where the cape met Wolf's neck, with the symbol of the cult glowing brightly and dominating the centre of the cape. Instead of his robes being unadorned, now the forearms had bracers of Grimm plate, looking sharp enough to kill even without Wolf's preternaturally evolved, predatory, body. The last of the smoke formed the ends of his cape, giving it an ethereal texture.

'Rise, my son.' Vicitor commanded, which Wolf seemed to follow without question. 'Rise and feel your new armour, which you will use to defend this family from any threat.' Vicitor said as he placed one gloved hand on Wolf's shoulder, protected by both the tough weave of smoke and sorcery, as well as the clasps of the cape, stylised to look like the claws of a beowolf. 'Welcome back to the pack.' The black-haired man whispered to Wolf.

'Thank you, Father.' Wolf whispered in his coarse voice, causing Vicitor to chuckle with satisfaction before turning back to address the crowd.

'Welcome, our new son!' he shouted, which the crowd returned with rapturous hollers. Some raised their palms, which also had the symbol of the cult on it. The only difference being that the symbol was carved onto their skin, unlike Vicitor's, which seemed to disappear after a short time.

'Silence!' Vicitor suddenly shouted, causing the crowd to grow silent. 'Let it also be known, on this day, that The Old Eclipse declares war on the Four Kingdoms and all of their guardians!' this caused another uproar from the crowd of gathered cult members. Those that carried the banners of the cult began hitting the ground with the base of the flagpole that they carried, establishing a rhythm that was followed by chants of 'War! War! War!' along with the flash of steel and iron from different weapons. The chanting was accompanied by cries of, 'Death to the Huntsmen!' and 'The walls will fall!' The cries of the cult were soon accompanied by Wolf's own howl, which was carried away by the empty village, as the very first villager rose again, changed.

Father Vicitor knew that there was much to be planned, and that they still needed to find the Map Stone, but at this very moment, he was going to join in the energy that he had stirred amongst his followers, his family.

_Do you see? Do you see what I have become? This, is all because of me. And when the world bows before me, you shall be the first to know my judgement._

The energy of the crowd hadn't spread to everyone watching the ceremony. Two mercenaries looked on the scene with disgruntled expressions as they continued to count their Lien.

'At least the pay's good, huh?' Ripper said loudly, but it had to be for Raider to hear it over the voice of the crowd.

Raider took a deep breath of the cigarette he was smoking before extinguishing the bud against the table they sat at. 'Yeah, we're surrounded by crazy, blood-thirsty cultists, but at least the pay's good.' He said sarcastically, making another mental note to never take up a job with cultists again.

* * *

As the cult prepared for war and rallied themselves, Beacon Academy still buzzed with activity as the chaos in the Hidden Bazaar had attracted Grimm to the outskirts of the Kingdom. Huntsman and Huntress dispatches came back and forth on Bullheads to reload or regroup after having spent themselves dealing with the never-ending threat.

While they coordinated amongst themselves, Professor Ozpin sat at his glass table, re-watching the events of the evening while simultaneously watching a live feed of surveillance drones and cameras that allowed him to monitor the progress of the Hunters repelling the Grimm.

While he did that Glynda paced back and forth furiously, a long lecture to no one in particular spilling from her lips.

'And on top of that, he decides to run away with the mercenary of all people! What was he thinking?'

'Maybe I was a little too harsh with him.' Rachel thought to herself, head in her hands as she sat on the chair in front of Ozpin's table. 'I-I mean, he's just a kid and he puts so much effort i-into what he's doing.' She lifted her face from her hands, eyes shiny from unshed tears. 'Do you think we pushed him too hard?' she seemed to ask Ozpin.

The white-haired professor sighed as he closed the video recording of the events that occurred in the black market. 'I'm sure Abraham will be fine.'

The statement earned him shocked expressions from both Rachel and Glynda.

'How can you say that?' they both shouted simultaneously. That caused the both of them to pause before Rachel spoke up.

'Do you want to go first?' she asked, gesturing towards Ozpin.

'Yes, thank you Rachel.' Glynda said with a curt nod before re-directing her ire towards Ozpin. 'Ozpin, Abraham is out there. Alone, with a murderer and we can't even track him. Even if he is a capable fighter, that doesn't mean he's in any less danger!' she shouted, her voice cracking slightly from the worry and fear for Abraham.

'Glynda, I know you're worried. I am too.' Ozpin said in his calm, collected tone. 'But there is nothing we can do. Abraham will return when he is ready.' He said as he placed a hand on Glynda's shoulder to give it a reassuring squeeze.

'What if he never comes back?' Rachel almost wailed, but coughed once she realised how she sounded.

Ozpin visibly swallowed as his eyes turned down to his feet. 'Let's not think that way.' He said quietly.

'What if we were wrong?' Glynda asked with a sudden urgency, taking a few steps closer to Ozpin. 'What if they weren't the warriors we sought and instead we just killed him.'

Ozpin made to reply, but Horizon spoke up from near the window overlooking the city. 'It's true. We found Nathan's body, so why should we assume that any of the others won't turn up like him?'

'Don't say that.' Rachel muttered quietly, but Horizon heard her and turned to face her.

'All I'm saying is that I'm having my doubts about this Dawn. Nathan's dead, ruling him out from being one of the warriors, so what makes Drake or Abraham or Wolf so different?'

'Because he's strong.' Rachel spoke up. All eyes were on her as she took a few steps towards Horizon. 'Because I watched him grow up and I saw a strength, a determination in his eyes unlike anything I've seen before.' She said as she wiped a few stray tears from her eyes. 'If…if Abraham is still alive, then I am confident that at least he is one of the warriors of legend.'

There was a pause where no one really knew what to say, before Ozpin spoke up again. 'No two dawns are alike. And sometimes, light can be found from the most unusual place.'

Glynda let out a sigh as she steeled her resolve. 'So what do we do?'

Ozpin turned to Horizon as he adjusted his glasses. 'Horizon, I want you to help with the mop-up of Grimm and hooligans in the city. Once that's done, we move on to Phase Two.'

'You still haven't told us what phase two is.' Rachel commented as she pulled out her touchpad to check on a message she received.

Glynda and Ozpin shared a quick look before Ozpin accessed the projector of his office. It projected the image of an old portrait. Though the colours have faded, the object of the portrait was still easy to make out.

This time, it was Horizon and Rachel who shared a glance before Horizon spoke up. 'What does that have to do with Dawn?'

'I'm sure you are both familiar with the legend.' He stated, receiving nods from both Hunters. 'Good, because it will be the Dawn's sword to cut away at the darkness. However, it needs to be found first.'

'Sir, the Icarus is just a myth. A-a fairy tale that the makers of the first airships came up with to inspire others.' Rachel said, sounding unsure of herself.

'And how often have we seen a myth come to life?' Ozpin asked as he turned back to admire the portrait.

There was a moment of silence between the four before Glynda took the initiative and broke it. 'What the professor is trying to say is that we want the two of you to pick a team that you think is ready to begin searching for it.' As she said this, Ozpin tapped a few commands into his touchpad, causing the portrait to fade away to be replaced by a map of Remnant. Several white spots appeared on the map. 'We've already marked some areas that we think the Icarus may lay, hidden.'

Horizon huffed as he examined the map. 'Some of these markers are deep in Red Zone territory.'

'One's even in a Black Zone.' Rachel added, pointing to one of the white spots. 'But…' she trailed off, a smile growing on her face as she looked to Horizon. 'I can already think of a few trainees that would gladly take up the task.'

'Some of them might even be successful.' Horizon joked, though no one laughed.

'I also want Horizon on the ground. Help with the mop-up process and gather whatever information you can about the Old Eclipse and what they're planning.' Ozpin continued as he took his seat at his table again.

'I'll get right to it.' Horizon said as he brandished his large revolver before turning on his heel and heading towards the elevator doors.

'What can I do?' Rachel asked as she leaned on Ozpin's desk, a determined look on her face.

'We'll need someone to keep the students calm and organize any data out field agents and Horizon send back to us.' Glynda offered, though Rachel shook her head.

'No.' she took a deep breath before continuing with what she wanted to say. 'I want to get back into the field.'

Ozpin cocked an eyebrow in surprise. 'Is this because of Abraham?'

Rachel let out a heavy sigh. 'He may be a reckless idiot sometimes, but he's our reckless idiot and I want to make sure he's ok.'

Ozpin looked to Glynda for confirmation, who grinned ever so slightly in response. 'Very well. However, if you do manage to encounter Abraham, you must not make contact and should focus on tracking Wolf.' Ozpin's words quickly dispelled the smile that had appeared on Rachel's face. 'Because the tracker in Wolf is still operational, it will give us the advantage we need to strike at the Old Eclipse's base of operation.'

'A lightning offensive or a siege?' Rachel asked as she looked to her touchpad and began typing something.

'First, we need to figure out the size of their forces and how much firepower they possess.' Glynda said as the projector beamed a map with a pulsing red dot to indicate Wolf's location. 'But once we do, we'd like to corner them like rats.' She said through grit teeth.

Rachel nodded and began to leave for the elevator, sharing in Glynda's subtle fury. It was only after Rachel left that Ozpin said what was on his mind. 'I really hope he's alright.' His voice shook almost unnoticeably.

Glynda shook her head slowly. 'Abraham has a strong heart. It will guide him to do the right thing…I hope.' This was always how it worked between them. When one of them was in doubt, the other would comfort them, even if they felt doubt themselves.

Someone always had to be the strong one. 'One thing worries me though.' Glynda said as she took a seat at Ozpin's table. 'If Nathan isn't the fourth member of the Dawn, then who is?'

Ozpin leaned back in his chair and spun it about to face the window. 'I guess only time will tell.' He said, entirely unsure himself. However, the old mantra he heard gave him comfort that no matter what happened, they will have their warriors.

_The Dawn will always rise._

**A/N: Ok, technically, along with the Author's Notes this chapter also meets the 7K milestone. So…hurrah for me?**


	35. Chapter 31

**A/N: It looks like we're back once again. To all those that only kept up with this story, I apologize profusely. At the moment, we've reached a similar milestone with our other story, MSTT: Cinder's Pawns. I keep telling this to the fans of MSTT only, but you guys should check it out as well. Some of the stuff from it correlates to the stuff going on with MSTT, and you might learn some interesting things from it. Think of it at peering through a keyhole at what the future DAWN created looks like. Now, without further delay, let's find out what happens next.**

**Wait, no! I need to get word out that RWBY Volume 4 is going to premiere on the 22****nd**** of October! Isn't it exciting! ...And now back to our regularly scheduled program.**

**Disclaimer: Neither I nor the Editorial (it expanded over the year I've been gone!) own any rights to Rooster Teeth or RWBY – trust me. All rights go to Lord Monty Oum and the rest of the creators of this masterpiece.**

Shield Brothers and Blood Sisters

The wind was quickly knocked out of Drake's chest as he was hurled onto his back by the hulking silhouette he had been fighting for an unknown amount of time. When he finally landed on the hard, uneven ground, his grip around Nightingale loosened for just a few milliseconds too long, causing it to clatter to the side. His vision was blur and dark in his peripheral and his fingers and toes felt numb with cold.

Instinctively, his hands flew to his sides to draw both Ursa's Claws, but he had already expended some ammunition in the earlier fight and quickly ran out as the rounds seemed to bounce harmlessly off the large, muscular silhouette. In a fit of unrepressed fear, he tried to crawl as fast as he could towards his halberd.

Drake came just within arm's reach of the weapon – hand outstretched to wrap his fingers around its metal shaft…only to be stopped as a weight suddenly fell on his back. Further back where the weight rested, the black-haired mercenary heard a few bones crack and was sure that his back was broken, despite the lack of pain.

Suddenly, he was lying on his back and facing the silhouette directly. Even now, he couldn't properly make out the finer features of the creature, only that it had glowing red eyes and lots of teeth.

As a claw reached out towards his face, Drake was sure that this was the end until a bolt of green surged by and knocked the silhouette over. Even in the darkness, Drake could clearly see the green bolt, which uncurled into the form of a person, standing on top of the creature before plunging his elongated weapon into the creature's neck, which caused it to let out a wet hiss before dissolving into a black vapour. It seemed to give off its own light as it approached the downed mercenary.

This time, Drake didn't try to run from it as it stopped, kneeling on one knee as it outstretched its free hand to him. 'Get up.' It commanded, its voice was like thunder and seemed to come from everywhere at once with an echo to it.

Drake wasn't in control of his actions – Drake wasn't even completely aware of his actions – as he reached out his free hand and grabbed onto the glowing figure, which quickly pulled him to his feet.

Upright once again, his surroundings slowly cleared up in his vision. The darkness faded away to reveal that he was in a square in some derelict town or village. Smoke still rose from several buildings as Drake turned back to his saviour, which revealed himself to be none other than Professor Ozpin.

'Are you alright? You seem distracted?' the grey-haired man asked him while shaking his shoulder slightly.

When he spoke in return, it was as if his voice and mouth was someone else's, as he did not know where the words came from. 'Just can't believe this is happening. What's the status on the reinforcements?'

'They'll be here soon enough. In the meantime,' he paused at the sound of metal cutting through a Grimm, followed by the cries of pain from a Beowulf. Turning in the direction of the sound, Drake saw a white flash speed towards them, which slowed to a stop to reveal itself as the girl he met back at Beacon, Summer. '-we've got more trouble.'

'They're coming. Lots of Grimm. Had to draw them away from the civilians.' Summer breathed out in between heavy breaths.

'Need a moment?' Drake joked as he reached for Nightingale.

'As if! I could keep this up all day.' The silver-eyed woman jeered while hefting her weapon.

'We'll see about that.' He said before turning his attention back to Ozpin. 'Do you really think the others can pull it off? We've only got one shot left and I'd hate to waste it.'

There was a pause as a distant rumbling rolled their way before Ozpin replied. 'I think this is the last chance we get to use that shot, so we either use it or not.'

'Fair point.'

'Heads up!' Summer wheezed out as what looked like a tide of hot tar began flooding down the streets of the town. As it got closer, Drake could more clearly see that it was a massive horde of Grimm, their bone armour shining brightly as lightning flashed overhead and making them look like they were fused together.

Over the growls and roars of the approaching wave of death, Drake could somehow still hear Summer breathing heavily. One glance was all it took to see the look of sheer horror in her eyes.

'It's alright.' Drake tried to say in a calm voice, which came out shakier than he would have liked. 'I'll cover your flank.'

She tried her best to flash him a smile as she turned to face the approaching creatures of darkness. 'Sorry, I just never thought it would end like this.'

Letting out a sigh of fatigue, Drake held the Nightingale in a defensive stance. 'It's not over yet.' Steeling his nerves, he watched with heightened anxiety as the wave of Grimm approached ever closer. Ozpin and Summer held their weapons in similar stances as all three of them prepared to stand against the darkness, despite the overwhelming odds.

Drake's fears were riled up once more and his breathing became quicker when the wave of approaching Grimm became clearer to him, and in the low light of the night, were revealed to actually be one large mass of Grimm – fused together into a nightmarish abomination.

Upon instinct, Drake shut his eyes and held his halberd like a shield as the darkness crashed into them.

It engulfed him so completely that he lost all sense of self, becoming completely oblivious to anything around him except for the frigid cold of the darkness around him, flooding his system.

He didn't dare open his eyes, in fear of what he would see as he trembled in the blackness. It was as if a hand made out of the liquid darkness found its way into his ear, forcing a phrase into his mind. Embedding it so that he would never forget it.

_Embers dance brightest in the dark._

* * *

Nearly jumping off the mattress on the floor that he slept on, Drake took a deep breath of air he didn't know he needed as his body acted on instinct and sat up straight. He gave himself a silent reprimand for shaking and acting so scared over a dream as he stared at his shaking hands in front of him.

The only course of action Drake could think to take to stop the shaking was to clench his hands into fists, but even that didn't help. It was only when he felt how clammy his hands were that Drake realised he was drenched in sweat – and incredibly uncomfortable with it.

Getting out of his makeshift bed, Drake made to move for the door out to get some fresh air, but he paused as fragments of his dream came back to him. He was thoroughly confused by what it meant and why he had it in the first place.

It didn't make sense that he would dream about Professor Ozpin or that girl he had only met with once, let alone dream of standing beside them against…_what were we doing again_?

Soon, trying to remember exactly what happened in the dream became increasingly difficult as the blurry images in his mind faded into monochromatic blobs. However, as the memories faded, one phrase that he didn't remember hearing came to mind.

_Embers dance brightest in the dark…_he recited in his mind. _Where have I heard that before? _Quickly pushing the thought from his mind, he struggled to crawl across his mattress to check the small, digital clock that he kept in the corner of the room.

_0400 hours…sounds like a good time for a walk… _Letting out a sigh, the black-haired mercenary decided that he might as well get started with the day, considering that he had a guest over. Checking quickly to his right, Abraham still seemed to be fast asleep.

Not bothering to change out of the garb that he usually wore, Drake quickly picked his red cape off a nail he hammered into the wall, fastened it to his cloak and grabbed his weapons off the floor.

Just as he was about to make his move for the refrigerator, the mercenary paused to take a moment to stare at the metal rack that almost completely covered one side of the room. On the rack hung various types of weapons ranging from a blunderbuss to a mace with a head made out of a rare gemstone. As he usually did, he stared at each of the weapons and thought back to where he got them for and why they hung there to stare back at him every night; as reminders.

After about five seconds passed, he turned away and began walking.

* * *

The powers that acted under the sight of both the Grimm and Mankind were greater than Wolf had anticipated. Barely a day had passed and already he could see how far the influence of the Old Eclipse cult reached. Dozens of weapons and warriors had been gathered in this one village – with more arriving soon – for what Father Vicitor promised would be the first of many offences against the Kingdoms in order to bring them low enough for the Grimm to simply wipe them out.

Wolf was still trying to understand the lack of Grimm presence in this area itself, but had a feeling that it was Vicitor's doing. Whatever it was, the Grimm-born made it his primary task to understand what kept the Grimm away from this place and to understand it.

At the moment, however, Vicitor had summoned him for what was supposed to be an important task as Vicitor ushered him into one of the larger wood houses. 'Please, after you.' The older man requested patiently as he held the door open for Wolf.

With only a low rumble in response, Wolf entered the house as Vicitor quickly shut the door behind him. When his blood-red eyes finally adjusted to the level of light in the room – lit only by a candlestick carrying three candles, Wolf was surprised to find various people of different ages staring at him, ranging from little children to Humans who looked to be in their late adolescence. Some were sitting in chairs while others leaned against the walls of the building, but they all stared at him, and it triggered his "fight or flight" instinct.

He was about to outstretch his claws and get into a defensive stance, but Father Vicitor stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder. 'There will be no need for that.'

His head snapped to the man for a moment before he took a deep breath and lowered his arms to his sides, deciding to play along for the moment. 'Why have you brought me here?'

'I wanted you to meet them,' Vicitor said as he waved a hand towards the occupants in the room. '-your family.'

The use of the word caught Wolf by surprise and he turned to face the occupants of the room, who stared at him with mixed expressions of discomfort, curiosity, and fear.

Oh, how he could smell the fear emanating off the children in the room.

'Do not be shy, he is your brother. Come, Velma, say hello to your long lost brother.' Vicitor cooed as he gestured for one of the small girls to approach.

The girl, dressed in a black dress that ended in a skirt that reached her knees covered in an intricate weave of lacy cloth, barely reached Wolf's thigh at full height. Yet, somehow, she was the only one brave enough to approach such a ferocious creature as himself – likely because of the provocation from Vicitor.

She stopped just half a metre from Wolf as he locked his gaze onto her, paralyzing the poor girl with fear. Glancing to Father Vicitor quickly to try to understand what he wanted Wolf to do just from his expression, he couldn't tell why the cult leader looked so forlorn.

With a sigh, Wolf decided to play along with this Human tradition of introductions as he lowered himself onto one knee to more properly meet the girl's gaze. Staring right into her eyes, Wolf saw that they were as black as the night and seemed to hold some greater force behind them.

Approaching him one small step at a time, the girl eventually stopped within arm's reach of the half-Grimm and slowly, tentatively stuck out one of her hands, which was covered by a white glove.

When her hand made contact with Wolf's face, he let out a small grunt that sent the girl running back to the other children with a frightful squeak.

'Do not worry, dear Velma.' Said a familiar voice. Looking more closely, he saw that the woman the others called "Emily" had been hiding in the shadows at the far end of the building. She had now, however, come forth to coddle the little girl. 'Your brother will not hurt you while I am around.' speaking the words with a threatening tone.

Pushing the little girl gently, Emily sent her stumbling in Wolf's direction. Eventually, she reached roughly the same spot as last time before slowly stretching her hand out again, wary of any sudden movements of noises.

Wolf wasn't going to make any this time, intent of getting this over with. He let the little girl caress his face before moving her hand to his neck. Bending his neck slightly to accommodate the girl, something happened that surprised Wolf to no end.

The little girl in front of him began giggling.

Before long, the tentative petting became more vigorous before the girl let out a little squeal and practically jumped onto Wolf to envelop him in a hug. Her arms barely reached all the way around his neck as she rested her body weight on him, but Wolf didn't react.

In fact, he couldn't if he wanted to.

Taking a deep inhale of the girl's scent, he felt something resonate from her Aura; a strong, untapped power beneath the surface of this frail creature.

It was dark…and growing…and Wolf _wanted _it.

Eventually, the little girl separated from Wolf and bore a huge smile this time, baring a mouth full of sharp teeth. Looking around, he saw that the other occupants of the room had begun slowly approaching him with their hands outstretched.

One by one, they each rested a hand on a different part of Wolf's head and shoulders. Some of the touches sent a chill down Wolf's spine as the hands were as cold as ice or carried a touch of death with them. He actually had to make an effort to not flinch away from the contact, as even Grimm were wary of the oblivion that is death.

It wasn't only death and darkness that Wolf sensed from these Human children, but he also sensed the familiar energy that only Grimm Alphas gave off, proving that he was right.

_They all have fragments of powers within them…_

'He's strong.' One of the Human boys remarked in a monotonous voice as he slowly retracted his hand. 'He will make a fine addition to the family.'

'Indeed he will, Graham.' Father Vicitor replied as he bent down to carry the little girl. 'Indeed he will.'

Below the surface, Wolf despised how the Humans treated him, despite the strong Grimm-like smell and energy they gave off. Their constant admiration of him did not give him the same sense of pride that he received when his former pack bowed down to him. They spoke of him as an Alpha would speak of their best scouting Nevermore, treating him like a pet.

They did not worship him – they didn't even revere him.

They saw him as an equal.

His thoughts were broken by an uncharacteristically small and light voice. 'He smells funny, Father.' The little girl in Vicitor's arms spoke before leaning in to whisper into the man's ear. However, her words were not lost to Wolf. 'I can still smell the blood of a hundred men on him.'

Chuckling to himself, Vicitor commanded the others to back away from Wolf with a single hand gesture. 'You see Wolf,' he said as he walked to stand in front of Wolf's knelt form. '-my family – or family – is greatest strength. When we stand together as one, like the packs of Grimm, we are a force to be reckon with and worthy of any Kingdom's might.'

'Simply tell us where to strike next.' One of the older boys spoke up. 'The last thing our enemies will know is your name, Father.'

Vicitor chuckled to himself as he turned to address the boy. 'So eager, but it is not our time yet. I promise we will strike, but only when we are ready.'

'Yes, Father.' The boy said with a mixture of reverence and fear.

Turning back to Wolf, the half-Grimm saw that the man's eyes and face had visibly softened before he spoke. 'My family is my sword, and my life. They are the reason we are as strong as we are today, and they will fight with me to my very last breath.'

'We will die for you, should it be your will.' Emily added, which caused Father Vicitor to chuckle merrily.

'No need to be so dramatic, dear Emily.' Vicitor replied as he lowered the girl to the ground so that she could run back to one of her siblings. 'You are all dismissed, but feel free to visit me or Brother Wolf any time if you feel like it.' The elderly man said, addressing the small crowd in the house. Having been given permission to leave, some of the younger children happily ran out of the building, while others like Sister Emily left at a much slower pace.

Almost all the others had left in a matter of seconds, while a pair of adolescent boys stuck around to speak in a hushed tone to Vicitor for a moment before leaving, taking the candlestick along with them. Once the building was devoid of everyone else except the two, Vicitor turned to face Wolf with a wide smile. 'Well?' he asked, finding no better way to phrase his curiosity at what Wolf thought about the introduction.

In Wolf's mind, it was a waste of time that could have been better spent growing stronger, taking Human lives or exacting revenge against the dreaded Alpha Carvus that stole his pack from him…but Wolf wasn't about to divulge all of this information. Instead, 'They are…like me.' Now it was Wolf's turn to find himself without a way to phrase his questions. 'Like…Grimm, but also like Men.'

'It is like I said;' The black-haired man spoke before plopping down onto one of the wooden chairs. '-these children were born with the gift of having a Soul similar to that of a Grimm Alpha. No matter what the Humans say, Grimm have Souls. Their Souls are just…darker and…more fragmented, unlike that of a Human.'

'I know all this.' Wolf rebuked the explanation. 'Is it not how the Grimm are able to absorb the powers of strong Alphas?' the half-Grimm's blood-red eyes shone brighter for a moment before dimming quickly. 'Is it not how you are able to absorb the powers of the Alphas?'

Vicitor simply turned his head to the side slightly while never taking his eyes off Wolf, a smug smile tugging at the corners of his mouth ever so slightly. 'It is true that I am able to absorb the powers of certain Grimm like any other Alpha.' Vicitor spoke as he held up his right arm, which had a shadow swirling around his wrist. 'But it is because my Soul has been touched by darkness. Like your other siblings, it is a blessing we are given at birth – to be able to draw power from both the light and the dark.' Vicitor explained. 'I simply showed them how to properly unlock the darkness within them, as I can show you how to master your true potential.'

There was a momentary pause before Wolf turned to face Vicitor, having to look down the man as Wolf stood taller than him while he sat. 'I have already grasped at the darkness. My existence among the Grimm is proof of that.' Wolf spoke with confidence about his abilities, but narrowed his eyes into slits as Father Vicitor slowly shook his head.

'No, my dear. I do not speak of the darkness in you. Never forget,' Vicitor said as he rose from his seating position to place a hand on Wolf's shoulder. '-you may be Grimm, but you were born Human. The light exists within you – it always has.'

Shrugging off the man's arm in disgust, Wolf took a step backwards out of instinct. 'You ask that I wield the light like a filthy Huntsman.' He snarled in revulsion.

'Not wield, embrace.' Vicitor's voice took on a fatherly tone. 'Instead of seeing the spark of light within you as a curse, understand that it can grant you powers that no other Grimm can use.'

'I am a child of the Grimm!' Wolf's voice rose in tempo. 'What you speak of is vile and blasphemous.'

'We were born with these gifts so that we may become more powerful than Mankind and the Grimm – that we may use the powers we have to overcome the Kingdoms of man and take our rightful places as Lords of Grimm. We are the eclipse!' Vicitor finally shouted. 'We have the light, but our centre is the dark.'

Wolf couldn't even face the man. What he said went against everything Wolf had worked towards – what point would be to purge the light from the rest of the world if he allowed it to exist within him?

Placing both of his hands on Wolf's shoulders, Vicitor continued. 'I can make you a Lord of Grimm, unlike any before.' The statement was also a request, and Wolf knew that the elder was waiting for an answer.

He was at an internal war with himself. Wolf could barely stand the presence of the light that came with having been trapped at a Huntsmen Academy, now Vicitor wanted to train him in their arts? The mere thought was revolting.

Yet, it was unlikely he would ever get such a chance again. No matter how much he wanted to disagree with Vicitor, Wolf could not deny the fact that if they were to beat the Humans, they needed to adapt and evolve faster than the Humans could innovate. This immanent battle may sometimes seem to turn in the Grimm's favour when they manage to wreak havoc on the smaller villages, but they have never been able to make progress on the large, fortified Kingdoms.

But…if he were able to master the Humans' greatest strength…

Turning around to once again face Vicitor, Wolf lowered his head in a respectful gesture. 'Teach me.'


	36. Chapter 32

**A/N: Apologies for the late update, but luckily I got into a session with my editor and we were able to cover several beta-chapters, so expect more regular updates in the coming few days...maybe.**

Work Issues

Sleep came lightly to Abraham, as any noise at all woke him with a start, his hand always going for the axe next to him. The events of the previous day still left him an emotional wreck on the inside, though he refused to show it.

Some of the emotions within him conflicted with one another while a few others built upon each other like a tidal wave. On one part, he felt greatly betrayed by Ozpin after all the commitment and love the blonde put into every task that the man gave him – all to be disposed like a piece of trash. Although, there part within Abraham that reminded him how often he failed the tasks that Ozpin gave him always kept its counterpart in check from feeling any rage towards Ozpin. Instead, the raw emotions never burst into a flame but remained a miserable pile of cinders, a depression that made Abraham want to bury himself where no one would ever be able to find him.

A separate storm of emotions swirled within him over what could have happened to the areas surrounding the black market once they left. Many of the criminals and felons committing illegal activity in that area had either made their escape or had been apprehended by the time Abraham had fled with the mercenary, but over the sounds of sirens from different vehicles, Abraham's sharp ears could still pick out the familiar sounds of gunfire in the distance - and it made his throat burn. He had faith that the police and Judicator force in Vale could easily deal with a few thugs and criminals – even if they were well-armed, but it still did nothing to settle his nerves that someone could have been hurt and he did nothing about it.

The thought of asking Doombeak to go scout out the area in Vale and see what information he could gather occurred to Abraham at about two o'clock in the morning, but he pushed that thought away after remembering that he probably couldn't make the mental connection from this far underground, and that Drake probably wouldn't like it if he found out that Abraham had left the 'safe room' – as Drake put it – so late into the night without telling him about it.

Since sleep would not provide him an escape from his thoughts, the blonde teen decided to join the mercenary in preparation for whatever the day held. Since Drake had awoken a couple of hours ago in a fit, he had turned on the lights at the opposite end of the basement to provide him some light as he worked at the worktable.

It served well to provide enough light for Abraham to navigate about the basement, while providing him some cover of darkness to avoid drawing the mercenary's attention.

Getting to his feet quietly, the dirty-blonde scanned the room for anything that he might want to take a closer look at. A sort time passed before his eyes landed on the large map stuck to one end of the wall. He hadn't managed to get a good look at it before trying to fall asleep, but now that he was wide awake, Abraham's curiosity got the better of him as he made sure to make as little noise as possible as he started to read some of the large bold words scribbled across it.

Many of the words or phrases seemed to be directed at certain people, if the arrows pointing at different photographs stuck to the map were any indication. While the photos varied in sizes, they were all close-ups of different people that Abraham didn't recognize.

However, as the blonde's silver eyes darted about to each different picture, he started seeing a pattern in how they were set up, as some of the men and women in the pictures had red crosses over their faces.

It was a hit-list.

Amongst the faces that were crossed out, Abraham saw one individual that stood out from all the others – as he recognized the face.

It was a face that he had strived and fought to bring out into the light of justice.

'It can't be.' Abraham murmured to himself unconsciously as he reached out a hand towards the mugshot of a dark-skinned man with a short beard and a pair of silver earrings. It had been eight long months since he got anything about this man, and now he knew exactly what happened to him.

His hand came up short to touching the photograph as a black, gloved hand shot out of his peripheral vision and grabbed it, turning his attention to Drake – who had apparently managed to approach him without the blonde noticing.

'Don't. Touch.' He said before letting go of his hand and walking over the computer table.

Instead of being annoyed, Abraham's face split into a smirk as he turned his attention to the mercenary. 'So, you're the freelancer that took Snakebite out of the picture.' He said in a weak attempt to weave a pun into the statement. Drake said nothing in reply for a few moments before Abraham tried to pick up a conversation with the mercenary. 'You know, I've been going after that bugger for years. Wanted for illegal smuggling, murder, rape, grand theft-'

'Arson, blackmail, dealing in illegal narcotics and sabotage.' Drake finished for him, leaving Abraham stunned for a few moments before he regained his wits.

'I didn't even know about those last few.' The blonde muttered to himself in surprise as Drake booted up the computer. 'So, why'd you go after him – and how come you just offed him without leaving a trace?'

'That's kind of in my job description.' Drake replied before turning in his chair to face the former huntsman-in-training. 'Why the interest?'

Shrugging, Abraham just replied with, 'I just like to get to know the chaps I'm going to work with.' Drake only responded with an annoyed huff as he began to access the different layers of security on his computer. Unfortunately, being blatantly ignored was one of the few things in the world that really annoyed the blonde, causing him to speak up again. 'Listen, if we're going to be working together, I need to know I can trust you.'

'No you don't. You just need to do what I tell you – no questions.' The raven-haired teen's voice was monotonous as he didn't even bother to look at Abraham once again. _That's very blinkered thinking right there._

'Then I won't.' Abraham spat defiantly. 'Not until you start being honest with me.'

Letting out a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose, Drake finally turned towards him, but had his eyes closed. 'Gosh, you're annoying. Fine, if you must know, Snakebite had ties to Infamous Corporation.'

'The terror group?' Abraham thought out loud.

'Yes, the terror group.' The mercenary confirmed for him.

Taking a few steps closer towards Drake, Abraham took a risk and leaned against the mercenary's computer table before speaking again. 'Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're record shows that you've been going after those blokes a ton in the past.'

The statement seemed to have caught Drake off guard – much to Abraham's mild amusement - as he froze in place for a few seconds before relaxing again. 'You're not wrong.' He breathed out. 'How do they have a record of my activity – I always cover my tracks?'

Shrugging again, Abraham allowed a wide smirk to spread across his face. 'What can I say, Vale Intelligence is very good at what they do. What they haven't found out is why you're going after those vandals. So…' Abraham droned on, only getting an un-amused glare from Drake in response. 'Why are you going after them?' the dirty-blonde finished. When he received no answer again, Abraham narrowed his eyes in frustration before continuing. 'If you don't tell me, I'm going to have to start guessing. Do they…owe you money? Did they cheat you out of a deal? Something about an old partnership?'

'They took people I cared about from me.' Drake replied solemnly out of the blue, stunning Abraham momentarily before he continued. 'And for the record; I've never worked with them before.'

For a moment, Abraham didn't know what to say in response to this new piece of information, but eventually settled on pity. 'I'm…sorry. I understand where you're coming from.' The blonde said as what Ozpin told him started coming back to mind.

'Don't be sorry. The only people that have to apologize to me are those that work for Infamous.' Drake replied with more passion in his voice than normal, as his black eyes glinted with the trace of some buried emotion. This sudden change only lasted a second before he returned to his cool demeanour.

This is where – Abraham realised – that the line of morality blurred, and he was determined to find out exactly where Drake stood on it. 'I get the feeling that not everyone in Infamous Corporation was responsible for your parents' death.' Abraham said after a moment.

'It doesn't matter.' Drake replied in a heartbeat. 'If they ally themselves with Infamous, then they're no better than any murderer under Infamous' influence.'

_There it is. _Abraham thought to himself. _There's where the line gets drawn. _Abraham understood the desire to bring an entire criminal organization down, but Drake wasn't after justice – he was out for blood.

'If it doesn't matter, then what makes you any better than the killers you're out to kill?' Abraham tossed the focus of attention back to Drake with a question that seemed to have caught him off-guard. 'Not everyone there deserves to die.'

'It doesn't matter whether they deserve to die or not – if they chose to work with criminals, then they will share the same fate.' Drake bit back.

'Then what about you? You're not exactly a saint either, so why should you be shown any mercy?'

'I never asked for mercy!' Drake shouted in response, the enclosed structure causing the words to echo a few times. The black-haired mercenary's face was twisted with anger when he shouted, but it quickly relaxed after a few deep breaths. 'I have accepted my fate as a criminal – and a killer. I only want to get justice for the people that they took from me. My…my parents.' He finally confessed.

Abraham still felt like he was missing out an important detail as he tried to understand what the mercenary was thinking, as it still didn't make sense to him, but he understood at the moment what Drake was underneath the title of "mercenary".

He was a man on a vendetta.

'This doesn't have to be your fate, y'know.' Abraham said quietly, understanding now what Ozpin meant about giving Drake a chance to explain himself. _I guess he really isn't a bad guy after all. _'Look, you helped me get away from Ozpin – and I'm very thankful for it, and they may treat me like a criminal now, but I still stand for justice – no matter what side of this fight I'm on. Once you help me get back on my feet and I'll have to owe you one, but I'm going to keep putting down bad guys even if that means you.' He said as he shook his head solemnly.

This time, Abraham received a physical response from Drake in the form of him slowly getting up from his chair to stand in front of the dirty-blonde. 'I know how this works out; you can't stand for justice but not answer to it. If you want to keep going like that, then you're no better than a vigilante. Honestly, I don't care what you do with your life, so long as you stay out of my way and my mission.' Drake hissed out the last few words through tight lips.

Taking slightly more time to shake his head left and right, Abraham's face twisted into a grimace. 'We may have started out as enemies, but I don't want to have to fight you.'

'I never wanted to fight any of the guys in Infamous either, but I can still tell you that my body count is getting close to a three-digit number.' Drake threatened with a stone-cold expression on his face.

_Come on, don't make it any easier to label you as the bad guy. _Abraham turned away from the mercenary for a moment, taking a sudden interest in the concrete floor before deciding that they had lingered on this topic for far too long, wanting to change the tone of the conversation to anything else. 'So…what's for breakfast?' Abraham asked after letting out a sigh.

It took Drake a few moments to blink away his cold demeanour and to return to a more neutral expression before he let out a sigh. Taking a few steps backwards, he eventually turned on his heel and walked over to the refrigerator. 'I have a very small menu, but it shouldn't be that different to the rations they distribute to Huntsmen on long-term assignments.' He said before opening the fridge and taking out a pair of plastic packet filled with various dehydrated foods.

Placing them on his work table, Drake then moved to open one of the large chests pushed up against a wall to take out an iron pot and portable induction stove. After filling the pot with clean water and loading the stove with Fire Dust, Drake then placed the pot on the stove and left it to boil as he quickly got two bowls from a cupboard hidden beneath the worktable. Grabbing one of the bowls, he passed it to Abraham, who stood in place, unsure of how to proceed or whether or not he should do anything.

'Go sit somewhere while I get the grain boiling.' He instructed.

For a moment, Abraham just stood where he was and looked into the bowl – his eyes scanning the inside of the bowl with great scrutiny, questioning the mercenary's level of hygiene. 'How do you get anything washed or cleaned in here?'

'I have a water filter on top of the building – I need to collect the water myself.' Drake said as he fished two spoons out of his fridge. The mercenary took his steps in wide strides as he crossed the room to pass the spoon to Abraham as the blonde made his way over to the couch. 'I usually go to the local laundromat to get any clothes clean, otherwise I wash up myself when it comes to it.' He finished, putting his own pair of utensils next to his bowl. Tearing through both packets at once, Drake quickly poured all of the dry, powdery contents into the scalding water before taking his spoon to stir it gently.

Once he was done, the mercenary quickly crossed the room to pour some of the mixture into Abraham's bowl. 'Help yourself if you want more, but I'd take it slowly if I were you.' Drake commented before heading back to his worktable.

Staring at the contents of his bowl, Abraham quickly realised that the mixture oddly resembled oatmeal, if only slightly more mushy. As he wondered why Drake had warned him about wanting to eat it slowly, he raised a spoonful of the substance to his mouth and tried it, finding the taste to be quite stale and not unlike fresh wheat.

It was only after a few seconds that Abraham realised that the oatmeal was still quite hot and that it burnt his mouth somewhat. He tried not to let the mistake he made show and shrugged off the pain, instead asking Drake something that had been on his mind for a while. 'How many are left?'

'What?' Drake asked back, utterly confused by the vague question.

'That's a hit-list you've got back there, isn't it?' Abraham stated while pointing to the map of Vale. 'How many blokes are left on it?'

For a moment, the mercenary remained silent as he pulled another pair of packets of a pink powder out of his cupboard along with another pot before responding. 'There were originally eight men, now there's only two left.'

With a huff, Abraham continued voicing his string of thoughts while bowling steam off a spoonful of the oatmeal. 'What happens after you've killed the last two?'

'Then I go after the rest of Infamous.' Drake said after a moment's hesitation.

'And after that?'

This time, the pause was longer as Drake poured the powdered substance into another pot of water before letting it sit on top of the stove. 'That's none of your concern.'

_He doesn't know what he wants to do…_ A few moments passed by in silence as Abraham continued to eat before Drake approached him with a cup of rust-red slush, placing it on the ground next to him. 'What is it?' Abraham asked as he stared at the contents in disgust.

'It's a blend of proteins; it's not a sirloin steak, but it works to provide you your daily amount of protein.' Drake explained as he drank his own cup of the same slush in one go.

'Never imagined this would be what a mercenary's diet would be like.' Abraham thought out loud.

'It's easy to make and even easier to keep for long durations.'

'I get that. it's just…different to how I imagined it.' Abraham explained.

'It often is.'

'So…who're we going to be killing today?' Abraham asked as he took another mouthful of the oatmeal.

'Nobody.' Drake breathed out before explaining further. 'We need to lay low for at least one more day – undoubtedly the Judicators and Huntsmen from Beacon are still looking for us.'

Abraham nodded in acknowledgement at that. 'Yeah, I guess that's a good idea.' It only set in that he would be stuck down here for the entire day after a few seconds. 'Hey, then what are we supposed to do until then?'

'I would recommend that you look over and clean your weapon, after that make sure you're equipped for any situation.' Drake said monotonously while reaching out across his worktable to grab a small toolbox and what looked like an old gas mask. 'But if you're going to do _anything, _try not to disturb me.'

With a huff, Abraham turned forwards in his seat and stared blankly at the lifeless television, for a few seconds. 'Hey, mind if I use your telly?'

Pausing in his motions for a moment, the mercenary reached across the metal table for a touchpad and tossed it over to Abraham. 'My channels are limited.'

'Can't you just pirate and download channels illegally?' Abraham murmured under his breath, not expecting to be heard.

'Unlike you I don't have the time to sit around and watch other people trying to solve pointless problems.' Drake bit back, causing Abraham to shut up and scroll through the short list of channels available.

* * *

'We were lucky to slip away before anyone spotted us, but I think that this should be enough information for us to come up with an offensive against the cultists.' Horizon explained before passing a touchpad to Ozpin with the requested information.

On it were several files containing videos and photographs of the abandoned village that the Old Eclipse cult were currently using as their base of operation.

'On top of that, many of the cult's leading members seem to be gathered there, including Vicitor.' Horizon pointed out, tapping on one of the images to enlarge it, displaying Father Vicitor seemingly in a heated discussion with two other men wearing blood-red robes.

'We should strike now before they have an opportunity to attack us first.' Rachel commented as she tapped her foot on the glass floor impatiently.

'We'll need to enlist the help of the Judicators again.' The black-haired huntsman pointed out. 'With the arsenal and the small army they have, it may be a little too much for any one team of Hunters – maybe even too much for two or three.'

'Then we send in four or five.'

'Rachel, we can't just pull Hunters out of their hunts for a military operation against a cult. With our numbers so small at the moment and the demand for Huntsmen so high, we simply can't afford to split our focus any further.' Glynda countered, sighing in defeat as she did. 'I'm afraid Horizon's right.'

Letting out a sigh, Ozpin carefully reconsidered his options and the challenges presented before him before giving a reply, feeling sure about his assumptions. 'It won't be that simple. The Judicators are beginning to lose good faith in my command, considering how many were lost as of recently. They're commander-in-chief has put a limit on to how many Judicators I am allowed to request per operation.'

'How many?' Rachel inquired.

With a heavy sigh, Ozpin replied. 'Two squads.'

'Two squads!' Rachel exclaimed in disbelief. 'You can't even fend off a nest of Grimm with two squads of those incompetent trigger-happy buffoons.'

'Which is why we need to be strategic about our next moves.' Ozpin followed up before rising out of his chair. 'Now, I can get some extra support from the Vale army, but we need people that have adequate combat skills and can hold their own against other militants, correct?'

'Yes?' the three other people in the room replied, uncertain about the direction of Ozpin's conversation.

'And it would help even more if these combatants had prior experience fighting the members of the cult, correct?'

'Ozpin, where is this going?' Glynda asked with a warning tone.

'What if we enlisted Team NCKL to help us fight the Cult?' Ozpin asked bluntly.

For a moment, the room fell silent as everyone considered the option. It was true, every member of the team had prior experience with war and unconventional battles. Even the pacifistic medic on the team, Cody Winchester, had an impressive enough resume that proved he had seen more fields of conflict than most full-fledged Huntsmen, hence how he was allowed entrance into Beacon Academy.

Eventually, it was Rachel's voice that broke the silence. 'Come to think of it, the girl, Nicole, has been looking pretty depressed lately.'

'Probably because her boyfriend ran out on her.' Horizon chipped in.

'Maybe some live-fire combat will do her some good.' Rachel finished.

'What about the Master Speaker?' Glynda asked, the title sending a chill down Ozpin's spine. 'Do you think he could send some help?'

'He's not returning my calls.'

There was another moment's pause before Glynda felt that she had to inquire. 'Do you think that Miss Lunas' emotional state will impair her ability to act as team leader?'

'I do.'

'And do you believe there is no better way to resolve this condition?'

'Absolutely.'

A sly smile ghosted over the witch's face for a quick moment before it disappeared. 'Very well, I will inform Team NCKL's leader at once and see whether she agrees to the terms of this mission.' Glynda quickly said before leaving for the elevator.

'What about me, sir?' the gunslinger in the room asked.

'For the moment I think you've done enough for us, Horizon. Take a break, but should you feel the need to help the people of Vale, know that the guards along the walls could always use more help.'

Nodding quickly, Horizon let out a yawn before strutting over to the elevator as well. 'I'll consider it.'

'Glynda.' Ozpin quickly called out just as the elevator arrived. 'With what we have, we should be able to commence an attack by nightfall. I suggest you ensure that Team NCKL is prepped for combat by then, if they accept the terms.'

Nodding, the witch and the gunslinger stepped into the elevator and were sent down to the grounds of Beacon, leaving Rachel and Ozpin alone.

'Any luck?' he asked her a second after the elevator departed.

Shaking her head, Rachel's expressions became crestfallen very rapidly. 'No, it's like he disappeared without a trace.'

Letting out a sigh as his innocent hopes were crushed, Ozpin took off the glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose and placed them on the table. 'It's only been one day, Rachel. We shouldn't expect to be able to find him so quickly.' Letting out a light chuckle, the headmaster allowed one of his happier memories to enter his mind. 'Remember when we were playing hide-and-seek and we couldn't find him for the good length of an hour?'

This got the stoic girl to let out a small laugh at the memory, which left a lingering smile on her lips. 'Yeah, I'm still not sure how he got up there.'

Turning away, Ozpin stared out of the glass windows of his tower at the city below it, the sun high in the sky and bathing the Kingdom of Vale in a brilliant light as a few clouds passed in the way of the sun. 'Give it time, we'll find him.'

After a moment, Rachel let out a low groan. 'This would be so much easier if we knew where Thomas was.' She said as an off-hand comment.

At the mention of the scared, confused boy that Ozpin blamed himself for losing to fear, Ozpin's face fell. _I only have myself to blame for anything that happens to him…_

'Thomas Glass is more than capable of taking care of himself. I have a gut feeling that before this is all over, he will return to us.'

Letting out a sigh, Rachel's footsteps carried her further away from Ozpin until the chime of an elevator could be heard. 'If you think so, boss.'

Soon, Ozpin was the only one left in the room on top of the tower as metal gears turned around him to a rhythm-less tune. _I guess it's our move now._


	37. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: We as a collective intelligence do not own any major part of Rooster Teeth or RWBY. All rights and reserves go to their respective owners and Monty Oum.**

Unfamiliar Light

At first it was just a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. However, before long its presence became more forward and constantly interrupted his stream of thoughts.

Something didn't feel the same about Drake's daily routine of cleaning his weapons, distilling clean water and gathering news on the criminal underworld. Even when Drake dedicated all of his focus on a little extra metalwork on the same day, the feeling was still there. It took the whole of the day, but the black-haired mercenary eventually realised that it was a familiar buzz of emotions – or more accurately the lack of a certain buzz of emotions. Something was missing from the routine that he couldn't quite place his finger on.

Settling in for another long night while making sure Abraham didn't cause too much trouble – which was oddly simple as Abraham was being unusually compliant, Drake eventually realised what was missing.

His partner, Nicole.

He missed her.

No matter how hard Drake tried, he couldn't fathom any logical reason why he would miss the presence of the platinum-blonde girl other than the fact that he somewhat enjoyed her presence.

It may have confused him to no end, but more than anything, it worried him because it meant that he was getting attached to someone.

The reason that came to the mercenary that made the most sense was that he was simply not used to living in such a familiar setting without his partner. Therefore, the only way for the feeling to diminish was for Drake to simply tough it out.

However, as the second day started, the feeling was still there and had not diminished. _These things take time...just give it time_. Letting out a sigh, Drake just decided to let the feeling stay since it didn't seem to be impairing his judgement or actions. Rising off his mattress, the mercenary quickly checked the time to confirm that the sun still hadn't risen.

Looking to his right, Abraham still seemed to be in slumber while only twisting slightly in his sleep. Drake considered this a good start to the day as he mentally prepared to head out and complete another assignment today just so that he and Abraham would have enough money to comfortably move to Mistral for as long as they needed.

No. There was no _they _or _them._ There was only him.

_Why does that sound so lonely?_

Besides, Drake had some messy work that needed to be done in neighbouring Kingdom, and he was sure that the former Huntsman-trainee wouldn't want a part of it.

They had to work quickly; once the possibility of escaping presented itself, they would need to ensure that the sequence of events fell into place as smoothly as possible.

Even though he was quite confident in his equipment's capabilities, Drake performed one last weapon check – as well as going over his latest piece of equipment – before waking Abraham up.

With another bowl of soggy grain and some vitamin tablets, the mercenary nudged Abraham awake before leaving his breakfast next to the mattress. He gave Abraham time to regain his bearings as he moved to boot up his computer to log in to the bounty board that was established on the underground network.

It may not have been as easily accessible as the local Vale network, but the unnamed underground network of digital information definitely spread further and contained more data than anything the Vale network could cobble together. Since the powers of the world hadn't found a way to link the various networks across Remnant, each Kingdom had its own official and unofficial network of local information that needed to be manually updated, especially when data on the neighbouring Kingdoms was concerned.

The use of the networks was often strictly for professional use only; keeping track of stock, broadcasting news, as well as advertising job offers. While it was often advised that trained Huntsmen only take up missions and assignments provided by the different governments, Drake had learnt very early on when taking up the job as a mercenary that it wasn't the only way a Hunter could pick up an assignment. Private groups or people that needed someone skilled to get a specific job done could put details of the job on the network and just wait until a mercenary or a Huntsman picked up the offer.

The major difference being that _anyone _could pick up the job and get paid for it, so long as it satisfied their employer.

Drake had to quickly give Abraham a rundown of how the system worked before he was willing to cooperate and compromise on an assignment to go on, much to Drake's displeasure.

'Right, so we just have to choose a mission and contact the person that put it up there, right?' Abraham asked for confirmation as his eyes scanned over the computer screen.

'If they want us to contact them – some assignments just require us to drop off the body at a certain location at a certain time of day.' Drake said with a neutral look, while the mention of that type of work seemed to make Abraham shiver ever so slightly.

'I told you, I'm not going to help you murder innocents – and that includes kidnapping.' Abraham snapped, making his point clear.

'Fine,' Drake said with a shrug. 'If it gives you cold feet, we won't do it – there are plenty of jobs to pick from.' He said while trying to conceal his annoyance towards the blonde. 'How about this one? It's an escort job.'

'Escorting a truck load of illegal drugs? I think not.' Abraham replied with some bite to his tone.

_Nicole was never this difficult._ Drake thought to himself as they continued to search through the list of assignments that paid enough and anyone could simply pick up. _I really hope this doesn't take long._

The black-haired mercenary's assumptions were wrong, as they spent a good portion of an hour arguing over which assignments were ethically acceptable by Abraham and which would provide either of them enough money to last a week in Mistral – plus the travel fare. This only served to make their task more difficult, as many of the assignments were under tight time constraints and had deadlines that were simply impossible for them to complete, narrowing their window even further.

'What about that one?' Drake suggested for what had to be the fifteenth time, pointing at the summary of an assignment without actually looking at it.

Abraham actually took a moment to read more than just the first two sentences, which was a good sign to Drake. After a few seconds of silent reading, Abraham replied. 'Yeah, sure. Why not.'

The mercenary couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief at that, but as soon as he read the details of the assignment himself, he could have sworn that his blood had frozen solid.

'No, we are absolutely not doing that one!' Drake suddenly felt very numb from the thought of what that assignment entailed.

Abraham seemed to pick up on Drake's frantic nature and scoffed lightly. 'What's the matter, got some history with them? I mean, I don't like them either but the pay looks good.'

'The pay always looks good whenever Schnees are involved.' Drake spat, not meaning to sound like it was directed towards Abraham. 'Most mercenaries have a policy when working with Schnees: we don't.'

'Why? Something else I want to know about the Schnees?' Abraham asked as his curiosity grew.

Drake had to let out another sigh as he mentally prepared himself to dive into another explanation. 'The rumours are…sketchy at best, but word is that most of the time when the SDC posts jobs like this issuing large amounts of money while asking for complete discretion, the people that take up the job don't come back.'

There was a pause for a moment as the black-haired teen let the words sink into Abraham before he broke it. 'Wait, what do you mean "don't come back"? Like, they die?'

'No, worse.' Drake muttered quietly. 'It's like they never existed. Their bodies are never found and the rumour is that the SDC even makes their record slowly disappear.'

Another cold silence passed over the two as Drake continued to read the details of the assignment. _Contact this number…absolute cooperation required…discretion until potential employee accepts terms of agreement…definitely sounds like one of those contracts._

Suddenly, Abraham spoke up with a renewed passion in his voice. 'Well, maybe if we take up the job, we'll find out why freelancers that work with the SDC…disappear.'

'N-no, we can't risk it.'

'Drake, it's clear the Schnee Dust Company are up to something-'

'You don't understand, the people that disappear often take completely different assignments.'

'Well, maybe they're connected somehow.'

'We have no idea what we'll be facing.'

'Neither do they.'

'Why do you care?' Drake snapped at Abraham, catching the blonde by surprise. 'Why do you care so much what happened to freelancers like me that are already dead?' Drake wasn't sure if it was the constant fear that there may actually be things worse than death, or if it was the anxiety of having it served to him by the Schnees that made him snap, but the mercenary definitely raised his voice out of fear – not anger.

'Do you really want to know why I want to take up that job?' Abraham began quietly. Letting out a soft sigh and resting his weight on the table, the dirty-blonde continued. 'It's because the Schnee Dust Corporation has been a pain in my arse for as long as I can remember.'

Opening his mouth to continue, Abraham suddenly paused and gave Drake a quizzical look. It took a moment, but the black-haired mercenary realised that he was giving the blonde a curious raised eyebrow. Gesturing with his hand to continue, Abraham took a moment to find the words he wanted to speak.

'Most of my life, I fought to uphold the ideals that the Huntsmen Academies were built upon. When I was old enough, I started dabbling in a bit off…unofficial reconnaissance on how the SDC handled their Faunus employees.' With a pause, Abraham's eyes focussed on nowhere at the floor. 'The chaps weren't treated any better than slaves. However, without much money to my mouth I couldn't do anything to stop what the SDC were doing…well, nothing legal anyway.' This piqued Drake's interest as it explained how they first met. 'Now, I'm just an outlaw – I can _choose _to follow the law if I want. Considering that, I'd do anything to get some dirt on the SDC and expose them for the tyrants they are.' His silver eyes met Drake's, bearing a fiery passion that the mercenary found somewhat unnerving. 'Do you understand?'

The mercenary had to stop to let the cogs in his mind think of a solution to what to do next. What Abraham said triggered something in Drake that made him realise that they really were more alike than he'd like to give credit to. As righteous as Abraham made himself out to be, in this moment he was a man on a mission with an enemy in mind – just like him.

_No, not just like me. He doesn't have what it takes to end his enemy. _Drake tried to reason. And yet, some small righteous part of him agreed with what Abraham wanted to accomplish. Four years of mercenary work had done little to squeeze out the good in him, but time in the criminal underworld had taught Drake how to tuck it away where it would never see the light of day. On rare occasions such as this, however, it peeked out of its hiding place. _They are offering a lot of money…_

With a reluctant sigh, Drake turned away from Abraham and turned to face the computer. 'Well then, I hope you're ready for anything the Schnees' might want us to do.' Drake reaffirmed, causing Abraham to give a wide grin while Drake wasn't looking. 'I'll send them a message back for confirmation on where they want us to meet, you should get ready for a long day. Nicole, I want you to-' the mercenary froze as he found that his thoughts had slipped into his words as well.

Trying to act like nothing was wrong, Drake finished typing up the message and sent it before turning to face Abraham. 'There, shouldn't be long now.'

However, it didn't seem like Abraham was going to drop that little slip anytime soon. 'Do you miss her?' Abraham asked with an innocent curiosity.

The problem was that Drake didn't know how to answer that question, for all the useless information he may have known. Instead, he kept quiet while he moved over to his worktable.

'You know, if you wanted to send her a message, I could show you how to send a quick message to the touchpad that Beacon probably gave her. It'd just take your computer.'

Spinning on his foot at the sound of his computer notifying him that he had received a message, Drake marched back to the console without looking at Abraham. 'I'll think about it.'

The message was from an anonymous, untraceable source, but the mercenary knew who it was from. Making a mental note of the time and place that their client wanted to meet them, Drake moved back over to his worktable after turning off the computer to grab his equipment – overlooking how suspicious it was that the SDC had replied to their message within a minute of it being sent.

'You know, she really does seem to care about you. It only seems right that you should return-'

'Can we please not talk about Nicole.' Drake said as he stopped walking entirely. Abraham bent down to pick up his hat from where it lay next to his mattress, but never broke eye contact with Drake as he felt his conviction to hold back his secrets slipping. 'I just…it doesn't feel the same without her.'

'Do you care about her?'

'…I shouldn't.'

'That's not an answer.' Abraham had a look of clear resolve in his eyes as he stared down Drake.

'We really should be going soon.' The mercenary said in a weak attempt to change the subject.

'Not until I get an answer.'

'Again, why do you care so much?' Drake asked, expecting another exquisite response. However, Abraham just shrugged. Letting out a small groan the mercenary fixed him with a firm look. 'Yes, which is what worries me.'

The former Hunter-trainee let his head bob back and forth in understanding before walking over to where his equipment laid spread out on the table. 'We'll talk more when we get back.' He chirped. 'Do you really think the SDC has something horrible in mind for us?' he inquired suddenly.

'Maybe, but it's like you said.' Drake said as he picked up the new mask that he had been working on all day yesterday. Modified from the foundation of a simple gas mask, Drake was able to make it sleeker and compatible with the implant in his spine. Putting the mask to his face, he felt the familiar pieces of metal lock it into place, and while it wasn't as flashy as the Sabre mask, it would have to do. '-they've never dealt with anything like us before.' He said, though his voice was only slightly muffled. _Gotta install the voice manipulator later._

Grabbing a face scarf that stuck out of one of his chests, Drake tossed it at Abraham. 'Cover your face – it goes with the freelancer appeal, outlaw.'

* * *

It happened quickly.

Once the snipers got into position, Vicitor barely had enough time to react to the bullet that flew straight at him. The shooters were really the only ones at fault for Vicitor being able to survive the attempt on his life, for the sniper that took the shot was the third to fire his rifle.

The second that separated the first and third shot was enough time for the cult leader to heighten his senses and dodge the bullet.

After several more bullets, arrows and crossbow bolts were let loose on some less fortunate members of the Old Eclipse, all hell seemed to break loose in the small village.

Airships flew in from the distance with the sun at their back, making them hard to see. When they were close enough, they began firing all their weapons at anything that moved in the village. Some slowed to a hover above the ground to release soldiers with heavy Dust weaponry that tore through both body armour and flesh with ease.

All the while, ignoring the cries from his followers and children to seek shelter, Father Vicitor stood aghast and disgusted at the soldiers attacking his family.

_I thought they would have been here sooner…and bring fewer forces…_ Making a mental note to question his spy as to how warriors from the Kingdom of Vale had found the village in the first place, Vicitor bent his knees and got into a battle stance before drawing large circles around his body with his arms, seeming to drag the darkness around him with them.

Soon, shards of crystallized darkness formed around him and joined together to make a spear that he hurled straight at one of the flying airships.

The spear pierced straight through one of the ship's engines and caused it to plummet to the ground where it crashed on top of an abandoned hut.

'Get the rest of my children – the battle has come.' Vicitor turned to bark the order at one of the cult's priests – wearing the signature blood-red robes – before swinging an arm that turned into a black, barbed stinger for a moment in order to deflect a bullet that was aimed at his head. 'Order the rest of the soldiers to cover us.'

Nodding quickly, the priest ran off while constantly using the bone-white shield that he carried to protect himself. Ignoring the fighting around him, Vicitor marched over to where the mercenary, Raider, was currently fending off several attackers with his double-bladed scythe weapon.

Allowing himself to appear out of a shadow behind one of the attackers, Vicitor caught them by surprise and quickly tore through their ranks, much to Raider's surprise.

'You fight well.' The cult leader complimented while licking the blood off his claws. 'But now it is time for me to demonstrate the strength of my family.'

Bending down to pick up the rifle of a dead soldier, the mercenary took a sidestep closer to Vicitor in order to dodge a stray shot.

'You really think these kids can beat back all these Judicators?' he asked sceptically while taking aim and shooting three oncoming soldiers with one bullet each.

At that moment, Sister Emily seemed to have arrived to answer Raider's question as she kicked down the body of a Faunus from Vale, with a large gash in his throat. 'It is not simply about defeating our enemy, but also about showing them our true strength.'

Looking back and forth as explosions rang out through the village, Raider turned to face Emily with a quirked eyebrow. 'Doesn't look like your "true strength" is showing yet.'

'Have patience, my friend. Sacrifice is a delicate art of war, and I intend to create a masterpiece.' He said as Emily started throwing several knives at what looked to be a giant of a paladin slowly approaching them. Each blade either bounced off the knight's greatshield or stuck to his thick armour – seeming to do little more than upset him.

The Huntsman hefted a long halberd with a curved, S-shape blade on one side in his left hand before tossing his shield to the side in exchange for less weight as he charged straight at Vicitor.

A smile crept over the cult leader's face as the heavily armoured Hunter charged straight at him, not bothering to get into a battle stance while finding some amusement at how tense Raider stood – ready to face the charging opponent that would never reach them.

From the roof of one of the huts, Wolf descended on the man with the speed of a hawk diving at a startled mouse. Pouncing on top of the man, the half-Grimm sunk his claws straight through the armour and sent the giant skidding across the ground.

The paladin didn't let out so much as a growl before Wolf changed one of his claws into the stinger of a Deathstalker and plunging it into the man's exposed neck. Immediately after making sure that the Hunter would no longer be able to draw breath, Wolf quickly walked over to Vicitor, firing shards of Grimm Dust at anyone he saw.

'Shall I dispose of the Humans, Father?' Wolf asked in his deep, growl-like voice.

'Maybe next time, Wolf. For now, see what your brothers and sisters are capable of.' Vicitor said as he gestured to a pair of teenagers bearing the symbol of the cult. One was a boy whose upper body was completely covered up by a black hoodie with shiny-black armour covering his legs.

Next to him – and holding his hand, was a more timid girl wearing a black and red frilly lace blouse and skirt with silver high heels to add to her height. Her black hair was tied up into a bun on her head and she seemed to be cowering behind the stoic boy as soldiers poured out around them and formed a circle around them.

'Those kids are gonna die!' Raider exclaimed, however before he could take a step forward, Emily stuck a hand in front of him to stop him.

'You may want to cover your ears.' Emily warned as they saw one of the soldiers pull out a pair of handcuffs and attempt to separate the two teens.

Yanking the girl and boy apart, a shrill screech suddenly pierced the air and caused the soldiers to collapse to the ground, hands covering their ears or trying to remove their helmets. Not having heeded Emily's warning, Raider suffered the same torment as the soldiers, albeit the mercenary was handling it better.

As Vicitor had expected, the cry not only affected everyone around them, but also seemed to have the effect of agitating Wolf into a state of aggressive growls and snarls. With the soldiers incapacitated, the boy drew out what looked like a wooden branch from his pocket and began dragging it through the air, tearing holes that opened out into darkness in the air around him.

Once he was done tearing open his forth rift, the teen in the hoodie worked quickly to grab the screaming girl next to him and pulled her aside. Within seconds, Grimm started pouring in through the rifts while the boy seemed to be trying to calm the girl down.

'Steady yourself, Wolf.' Vicitor warned by placing his hand on the half-Grimm's shoulder. 'You'll get your chance soon enough.' With the soldiers still incapacitated, they were easy prey for the Grimm that fell out of the portals – constantly drawn towards the screaming girl.

The black creatures were almost upon the two when another boy came rushing down the path. He wore a black T-shirt and a pair of long black leather pants, with his moon-pale hair slicked back. His metal-sole boots hit the ground hard as he rushed by the horde of Grimm, running straight towards the two other teenagers – touching every Grimm he passed.

Skidding to a stop in front of the two, he held out both of his hands and every Grimm he touched instantly began to slow down to a stop. Clenching both of his hands into tight fists, the Grimm that stopped suddenly began attacking the others that weren't under his enchantment.

Before long, all that stood in front of the three teenagers in black was a group of Grimm that were each trying to do their best to bow down to the enchanter, who slowly lowered his arms to the ground just before the rifts in the air sealed up and the last of the girl's screams died down.

'Behold,' Vicitor spoke while gesturing to the three children who were meandering their way towards them through the Grimm. '-the power that my children poses.'

When they were close enough, the girl broke away from the other two and ran into the arms of their leader, burying her face in his chest. While he chose to ignore it, Vicitor was also sure to speak to Emily later, as she glared at her Sister with disdain. 'Did our performance please you, Father?' The teleporter – and older of the two boys – asked with an eager zeal in his eyes that his neutral expression did not match.

'Very much so, Nathaniel.' Vicitor complimented while laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. 'You all did exceptionally well.'

'Hate to be that one douchebag, but we're still under attack.' Raider said just before someone fired a rocket in their direction. Acting on instinct, Raider quickly stepped forward and destroyed the rocket with the flick of his scythe blade in one hand, before quickly shooting the rocketeer with the assault rifle in his other hand.

'Has your companion taken care of the snipers?' Vicitor asked, which Raider responded to by placing a hand to his ear and nodding quickly. 'Good. Surely more heard my sweet Madeline's cry for help.'

'More? More what?' Raider asked, thoroughly tired of all the strange stuff he had seen today.

As if on cue, several loud howls suddenly filled the air from all around the village. Smiling, Father Vicitor turned to face Raider as the bounty hunter levelled his rifle as if searching for a target. 'More Grimm.'

Across the village, other battles were being fought in a similar manner, with the cult's gifted children easily overpowering the Judicators, soldiers from the Vale army and even some of the Huntsmen. Off to one corner, Andrew kept to the second floor window of a house as he watched a group of Huntsmen through the smudged lenses of his mask.

They had stopped in reaction to the sounds of Beowulves approaching, and that was the way he wanted them: distracted. Running his hand down either sleeve of his black outfit caused several symbols to light up like a flame as his hands grasped around their own individual whirlwind of smoke.

Throwing one directly at each individual, he watched as they choked and struggled to breathe before taking his time at making his way down the stairs to the ground floor. Approaching the first choking Huntress, Andrew withdrew one of the syringes in his belt and stabbed it into the woman's neck, emptying its contents in one fluid motion.

He didn't stop to watch her spasm uncontrollably as he performed the same treatment to the other Huntsman. It was only when he reached the forth Hunter did Andrew encounter resistance as the Hunter's hand shot out to grab his hand before he could jab the needle into the man's neck.

Pulling another syringe out of his belt, Andrew quickly twirled it in between his fingers before trying to stab the Huntsman with it. His movements were too slow as the Huntsman dodged backwards while throwing two hand grenades his way.

They rolled along the ground for a moment before Andrew's delayed muscle spasms kicked in and he swept both of them away with two sweep kicks. They were only meant to distract the puppeteer, however, as the Huntsman readied a flashbang and held onto it just long enough so that when he threw it, Andrew didn't have time to stop it before it exploded.

The flare in his face temporarily disorientated the puppeteer as he didn't see the Hunter charging straight at him, sweeping him off his feet with a textbook body slam.

It took a moment, but Andrew quickly found his footing and rooted himself to the ground with almost inhuman stopping force. The Hunter was only left with being able to deliver several punches that only seemed to make Andrew flinch, taking a step backwards every three punches. It didn't matter to him though, as he watched with calculated interest as the Huntsman's punches slowed in speed. Andrew returned the attack with several attempts to stab one of the syringes in either hand into the Hunter, each time being blocked or ducked under by what could only be a very well-trained Huntsman.

In a last, desperate attempt to finish off his opponent, the Hunter quickly grabbed the pike of one of his companions and drove it through Andrew's chest to the hilt. It seemed to have worked as the puppeteer slid down onto his knees, but when his guard was dropped, Andrew sprung and jabbed a syringe into the man's neck.

The Hunter let out a defeated cry as he sank to his knees while Andrew rose back to full height, pike still sticking out of his back as black powder seeped out of the open wound. However, the Hunter did something unexpected that caught Andrew off guard.

Laughing suddenly, the Hunter lifted one hand with stiff motion – holding a live grenade in it.

'If we go, so do you.' He said, and the last thing that Andrew remembered seeing was the flock of Nevermores closing in on the village before everything burst into a shower of dirt and stone.


	38. Chapter 34

Window of Opportunity

'Nicole, I thought we were supposed to be the backup!' Cody shouted over the buzzing of his tesla weapons working into overdrive to keep the attacking Grimm at bay. They were by no means lethal – and were not designed to be – to the creatures, but they worked to scorch the fur of Beowulves and sting the sensitive nerves behind the thick armour of Boarbatusks.

_He's right. _Nicole thought to herself. The situation down here could hardly be called "light", which didn't make sense if they were just supposed to protect their getaway airship. This was only made worse by how almost every other airship that was attempting to make an attack run on the village was being shot down somehow.

Having landed on the edge of the village, Nicole and the rest of her team had a clear view of the hundreds of Grimm that were slowly encroaching on the village, and it made her worry more than the fact that the shooting had died down. The fighting still hadn't died down, and it seemed that there were even more cultists holding their ground than before.

'Where's Kanary? That dang bird should've been back by now!' Leroy asked after having tackled a cultist through the wooden wall of a hut and was now using it as a shield against some of the cultists that were encroaching on them.

'I had a nagging feeling something was wrong.' Nicole muttered to herself as she sprang out from around one of the buildings to let loose two arrows at once. 'Alright team, this has officially turned into a rescue mission.'

'Let's not jump to conclusions.' Cody tried to reason. 'She could just be-back you beasts!' he shouted as he slammed one of the tesla guns into the face of an approaching Ursa. 'She could just be running a little late with all the cultists she's got to shake off.' He finished.

'Maybe.' Nicole breathed out as she fired an explosive arrow towards the group of gathered militia men, scattering them about the place in a shower of bodies. 'It's like they've got their own private military. For Oum sake, where do they get all these people?' Nicole asked no one in particular as she took aim at a cultist trying to get the drop on them from atop a roof.

'I knew I should have switched to something more lethal.' Leroy grumbled to himself as he fired off another couple shots from his automatic shotgun at a few small Nevermore flying overhead before transforming it into its electric baton form to smack a Beowulf to the ground in one hit.

'Seems to work fine to me.' Cody commented as his tesla guns seemed to be working together to create a chain of lightning between the smaller Grimm. 'At this rate, the skies will be too crammed with Nevermore for us to be able to take-off. We need to-' The field medic was cut off by the familiar sound of a semi-automatic rifle coming from the direction of the village.

Everyone turned their head to watch as a golden glowing figure leapt from the roof of a two-storey building and glided across the air towards them before suddenly losing its glow and dropping to the ground.

'Stockholm!' Leroy shouted as he ran to assist the girl, carrying her by one arm back to the airship.

'Kanary, are you ok?' Nicole asked in concern as blood dripped from a wound in her ankle. Turning to the one mounted gunner on the airship, she quickly barked, 'Take over!' before rushing to her friend.

The machine gun thundered out lead bullets at a rate of at least three per second as Nicole skidded to a stop to lend a shoulder for Kanary to rest on. Nodding stiffly as Leroy set her down gently, he let her lean against the hull of the airship. Cody was already tending to the mute before she could ask any more questions. Adjusting the settings on his weapons, he fired off a stream of blue energy from each gun that both hit the wound on Kanary's ankle. She hissed for a moment before seeming to relax.

'It's nothing major, but she'll have trouble walking for a while.' Cody said before suddenly breaking out into a coughing fit.

'Are you ok?' Nicole asked, the ever-worried team leader. She tried to support the boy on one shoulder and he seemed to accept the help. 'Leroy, cover us!' she shouted, realising that they were all crowding around their one injured teammate. With a nod, he got out his shotgun and kept watch for them.

'Yeah, just probably need a new pair of lungs.' He croaked out.

'Is it serious?'

'It comes and goes.'

'All clear!' he shouted before slowly holstering his weapon 'Kanary, what happened?' Leroy got down on one knee to get closer to his long-time friend. 'Did you find the other teams?'

She nodded once.

'Where are they?'

Kanary slid a finger across her neck.

A gasp of shock escaped Nicole before she crouched down to get a better angle to talk to the injured raven-haired girl. 'All of them?' Kanary's strength seemed to be returning as she shook her head. 'Team five?' she slid a finger across her throat. 'Team four?' she repeated the gesture. 'Team three?' She repeated the gesture a third time. Nicole needed a moment to stifle a whimper. 'Team one?' At the mention of their flag bearer team, Kanary just shrugged before trying to stand.

'Whoa, easy girl.' Leroy said, still supporting her.

'It's alright. The bleeding's stopped, she can walk now.' Cody explained as he shut off both of his guns to allow them to rest.

'Hey, if everyone's all patched up back there,' the man on the mounted machine gun called back over the roar of the weapon. 'How about some help over here?'

Kanary was the first to react, snatching up her rifle and firing at any of the Grimm too close to the airship. Leroy followed up with his Boomstick at the ready to scatter a few small Nevermores that were trying to tear into the Bullhead's engines.

'Keep them distracted, we're getting out of here!' Nicole ordered Cody while firing off several arrows in different directions. The arrows struck the ground and formed large walls of ice and obsidian to bottleneck the Grimm where Leroy and Kanary could easily pick them off.

'What about the mission?' Cody asked as he used his Tesla Pack to blast back an Ursa with a concentrated bolt of energy generated from both electrical prods.

'Almost all our forces have been jacked and we're surrounded by Grimm. I don't think that we'll be able to complete the mission anytime soon.' Nicole said as she climbed through the hatch of the Bullhead and made her way to the cockpit. 'Try to get a message out to any remaining Hunters and Judicators out there. We're falling back!' she yelled at the pilot.

'Not going to argue with that.' He replied before starting up the engines. While he did that, Nicole pulled out her pocket communicator and switched it to what Glynda Goodwitch had told her would be their tactical channel.

'Professor Goodwitch? Things are turning out pretty hectic here, I'm afraid we'll have to leave this job unfinished in favour of saving our skins.'

'So I've heard.' Glynda growled into her end of the communicator, rubbing her forehead in frustration, though no one could see her. 'You and the rest of the attack force have permission to retreat.'

'Alright, thanks dear~' Nicole chimed before cutting the communications link. 'Gun it!' she suddenly shouted right into the pilot's ear.

'Ow, you didn't have to yell it right in my ear.' The pilot said as he finished with the take-off procedures.

'I don't care! We're getting my team out of this, so you'd better get this wagon in the air or I'll…' she stopped herself as the glint of morning light on steel caught her eye through the glass window of the cockpit.

Using a hand to try to block the glare of the light, Nicole's eyes widened at what she saw.

Facing the village, the reflection of light was coming from a large, cone-shaped helmet that covered the whole head of the scrawny man that was wearing it. It was almost comical how disproportionate the helmet was compared to the rest of the man's bruised, bloodied twig of a body, but it only drew more attention to the huge cleaver that he was carrying.

The rusted blade of the weapon had to be dragged along the ground, but was easily as long and twice as wide as the skinny man only covered in what looked like some tattered cloths and animal skins. Having come from the direction of the village, the cone-headed man was slowly approaching the airship at a hobble.

'What is that?' Nicole muttered to herself.

'Whatever it is, it's going to be riddled with holes in a second.' The pilot said in response, activating the controls for the nose mounted machine gun. Shifting one hand to the firing control, he thumbed the fire button and the machine gun immediately roared to life, firing off a stream of bullets at the ground in front of the skinny man before the recoil caused them to fly straight into him.

However, the cone-headed man suddenly drew the giant cleaver in front of him like a shield with inhuman speed, blocking every bullet that was sent his way before suddenly leaping into the air. Both the pilot and Nicole followed the skinny man's flight path, but only the platinum-blonde ex-mercenary realised where he was headed – cleaver aimed at the ground.

Too late, she realised, when she shouted, 'Look out!' There was no time for the pilot to get out of his seat before the giant rusted blade came plunging back down and stuck straight through the window of the cockpit, impaling the pilot and stabbing the controls of the airship. All she could do was leap backwards to avoid the shower of glass that came with it.

With the controls jammed as they were, there was no way that they were going to use this Bullhead to get away. So, it was with a high pitched scream that Nicole drew her bow and fired two arrows at once at the cone-head man. One arrow stuck out of his elbow while the other bounced harmlessly off the large brass helmet, causing the man to let out a beastly howl of pain before pulling out his cleaver and letting it rest on his shoulder as he stepped into the airship.

Nicole was gripped by fear as the walking horror show slowly approached her one stride at a time, snapping off the shaft of the arrow in his arm by hitting it against his thigh. She could only do what came to mind first and fired off whatever arrow she could find in her quiver while falling back into the passenger compartment.

Each arrow was either deflected by the giant brass helmet like a shield or dodged, as narrow as the space in the passenger compartment may be. Sparks flew about the enclosed space as the giant cleaver made a horizontal arc, creating deep scratches along the walls of the airship.

With a squeak, Nicole quickly ducked under the strike as the large blade jammed itself into the hatchway. It took a moment for Nicole to regain her sense as she quickly checked that all her hair was still there before sending the edge of Moonlight into the cone-head man's chest, causing him to stagger backwards a step.

The small distance she put in between them was enough for her to regain her bearings and quickly think out a plan of at least defeating her opponent. Drawing out an explosive arrow, she quickly fired it at the floor of the airship, sent a smirk the scrawny man's way and jumped out of the open hatch, dragging the machine gunner away from the explosion with her Aura whip.

Starting at the point between the passenger compartment and the cockpit, the Bullhead exploded into two separate pieces and a shower of hot metal shards. Everyone immediately raised their Aura to defend against any stray or surprisingly sharp bits of shrapnel, before refocusing their attention on the Grimm surrounding them.

'Nicole, you alright?' Cody shouted over his shoulder while slipping in a new vial of Electric Dust into his pack.

'I'm fine.' She said, untangling her whip from the confused gunner. 'Get down!' she shouted while drawing her bowstring back. The brunette did as he was told without hesitation, allowing Nicole to place an arrow through a leaping Beowulf.

'Glynda, we've got a problem!' Nicole said into her communicator as she used the whip that was still in her hand to coil one end around the neck of a Creep. Pulling back as hard as she could, the coil around the Grimm's neck tightened like a noose and decapitated it in one clean tug.

Tossing a stray pistol to the dazed gunner, Nicole continued yelling into her communicator. 'Our airship is kinda…broken, and we have no way of getting back to Beacon!'

'Don't worry, I've been able to get into contact with Team One.' Glynda said calmly as a giant Nevermore swooped overhead. 'I'm sending them to pick you up as soon as they can. For now, hold your position.'

'Aye aye, cap-' the platinum-blonde girl was cut off when a large throwing knife suddenly knocked the communicator from her hand. Turning around with her bow ready, she came to face a familiar looking man who had two tomahawks in either hand.

'You're not getting away that easily.' He said as he flipped one of the tomahawks in his hand.

Reaching back into her quiver, Nicole's blood suddenly turned ice-cold when she couldn't find any more arrows. The man, Ripper, seemed to catch on to this and threw one of his tomahawks straight at her. _Oh bugger._

Knowing there was no time for her to dodge the attack; she prepared to raise Moonlight in front of her to block it, but suddenly lost her balance when the gunner pushed her to the side, effectively taking the tomahawk straight to the chest for her.

She found her footing quickly when Ripper suddenly turned into a cloud and rematerialized right above the injured gunner, second tomahawk poised to strike. It took all of her momentum, but she was able to dive in between Ripper and the downed man and block the strike with the handle of her bow.

She then used her position to place a kick to the axe-wielder's chest and send him back a few feet. Ripper was able to break his fall by suddenly turning into fog again and rematerializing in a ready stance. _Oh, now that's just cheating. _She thought while sliding a hand over the handle of her bow, causing the two limbs to fold backwards at a right-angle and for two six-inch blades to spring forward from inside of them.

Taunting him with the wave of a hand, Ripper suddenly broke into a sprint where they came face to face, trading blows as Nicole used the limbs of the bow to protect her arm while Ripper easily matched it with his attack speed.

The assassin was eventually able to get the upper hand when he got below Nicole's guard and kicked her off balance, sending her to the ground.

Tomahawk poised to strike, Ripper was cut short from finishing off Nicole by a sudden war cry followed by Leroy tackling the man into a tumble. Nicole could hardly express her thanks for the crazy wildcard coming to her rescue, but she settled for letting out a breath she was holding in.

Getting back up, she quickly took a moment to assess the situation around her like Drake had taught her to. With Kanary and Leroy keeping Ripper occupied, Nicole could focus on helping the injured gunner and Cody, who was fending off the Grimm all by himself.

She just managed to drag the injured man up against one of the walls of obsidian that she had formed when the sound of metal twisting brought her attention back to the remains of the airship, where Cone-head was climbing over the burnt frame of the airship.

_Oh, you've got to be kidding me! _'Cody, on your left!' she shouted at the medic, who was still barely able to hold back the growing horde of Grimm. At the sound of her voice, he reacted quickly enough to leap backwards and sprint over to Nicole's side before the large cleaver was able to bisect him down the middle.

'Oh, gosh. Is he alright?' Cody asked in concern, pointing at the injured gunman who groaned in response.

'You tell me, doc.' She replied, getting ready to fight the strangely scrawny man once again. Outnumbered and overpowered, the only advantage that they had at the moment was that the Grimm seemed to have a taste for scrawny, tattered weirdos.

Her instincts as a mercenary told Nicole to go in for a quick strike while Cone-head was distracted by a large Ursa, but her instincts as team leader told her to cover Cody as he tended to the injured gunner.

'Even if I can patch him up, I get the feeling that none of us will make it out of this one.' Cody said morbidly, giving Nicole an apologetic look.

Holding her ground, the platinum-blonde archer closed her eyes and quietly hoped for a miracle. 'Come on, Cody. We've handled worse.' She tried to convince him, though she didn't sound like she was doing a very good job with the shakiness in her tone. 'Like those Nevermores in the Emerald Forest.'

Finally managing to scare away the Grimm around him, Cone-head was able to focus his attention back onto Nicole for a second, before he was immediately sent flying through the air by a missile that detonated as it hit the ground below him.

Following the trail of smoke, Nicole traced the missile back to a sight that made her smile involuntarily. The Bullhead that was closing in was making a wide arc tracing the perimeter of the village, careful to avoid flying straight through it unless it wanted to end up like some of the other airships that were shot down rather abruptly.

Several people on either open hatch of the airship were providing cover fire and worked well to scare away the Grimm while someone else dropped a few smoke grenades to help cover their escape. _About bloody time._

Waving the airship down, Nicole suddenly remembered about their two missing teammates and turned in search of them. Smoke obscuring her vision, she growled in frustration before turning to address Cody.

'Cody, get this man on the airship. I'm going to go help Kanary and Leroy.' She said while helping the injured gunner to stand. 'Got any grenades or Dust on you that I might borrow?'

It was then that Cody gave his team leader the most incredulous and disgusted look ever. 'I'm a medic; why would I have grenades on me.'

Without bothering to answer his question, Nicole walked by her team medic while taking out one of the vials of Electric Dust from his pack. 'I'm just going to borrow this, okay?' she said while waving the vial in the air for him, rushing off before Cody even had a chance to respond.

Bursting out through the smokescreen, Nicole quickly set about finding her missing teammates, still locked in battle with the assassin. With a quick whistle, she was able to catch Leroy's attention for a split second as she held the vial over her head.

Leroy seemed to understand what she was trying to say, which was as good of a response as Nicole would get. Counting down from three, she lobbed the vial towards the three combatants. Suddenly, Kanary activated her Semblance and glided across the air back to Nicole's side with a backflip.

Leroy followed after, but not before hitting the vial as it passed right in front of his face – right in between him and Ripper. The assassin had no time to react as his vision exploded into sparks and lightning, while Leroy was sent backwards with his Semblance active.

The former-Judicator was sent skidding across the ground and stopped right at their feet. Lowering his body shield with a groan, Leroy first opened one eye before asking, 'Did it work?'

Looking back to where the smoke and sparks were still clearing, Nicole's eyebrows knitted together in worry as Ripper was nowhere to be seen. 'Looks like it, come on. We need to go!' she said while offering a hand for Leroy to get up.

With help from Kanary and Nicole, all three of them were able to make it to the Bullhead in seconds, practically collapsing on before shouting to take-off.

With a shudder, the airship rose at an angle and flew towards the direction of the rising sun. Several Nevermores still on their tail, most of the Huntsmen and soldiers on board were still sticking their weapons out and taking pot shots at the encroaching Grimm.

'Can you shoot?' asked one of the older Huntsmen as Nicole propped herself with her elbows.

'Huh?' she asked, exhausted from all the fighting.

'Can you shoot?' he repeated himself.

'Y-yeah, but I'm out of arrows.' She replied with the first thing that came to mind as the airship shook suddenly again.

Instead of responding, the Huntsman took the pistol from the injured gunner that Cody was still tending to and handed the sidearm to Nicole. 'Every shot counts.' He said while helping the blonde to get to her feet. 'Now come on, we're running on one engine here and I'm sure that we've exceeded passenger capacity. The fight's not over yet.'

* * *

'Are you sure this is the right place?'

Drake let out an annoyed groan again as he turned to face Abraham again. It was about midday and they were waiting at exactly where their contact from the SDC told them to go, which just happened to be the corner of one of the more busy districts in Vale. It wasn't exactly the most discreet meeting spot, but at least they didn't stand out too much from the diverse crowd that flowed through this area from time to time. In the message, they had been told to wait at the corner of a specific hardware store and expect their envoy to arrive some time past noon – which is exactly what they were doing.

The waiting was starting to get to Abraham, and every now and then he would throw a glance towards where Beacon Academy could just barely be seen in the distance. _Every moment out here is a moment that we could be recognized._

'Yes, I'm sure. It's possible our envoy is already here and is waiting to make sure that we're the people he's supposed to be picking up.' Drake said, his voice muffled by his steel and latex gas mask. 'They've never seen our faces before, remember?'

'Yeah, but…' Abraham trailed off as he quickly looked left and right once more, thinking that he recognized someone from among the crowd.

'If you're worried about getting spotted, pull your scarf up. Remember; if we get found, you're on your own.' Drake grumbled.

'Alright…' Abraham said as he pulled the scarf over the lower half of his face, trying to ignore how itchy it was. 'But you're sure this is the right place.'

Letting out another low growl, Drake was looked like he was actually about to say something else, but was cut off when a matt-black car stopped suddenly in front of them. Without warning, two men in Schnee Dust Security suits exited the car and forced both Drake and Abraham into the passenger seats with them.

Having been forcefully shoved into the passenger seat of an unmarked car, Abraham had a few choice words for the security guards facing them on the opposite seats, but he held his tongue when Drake turned towards him, the mask unable to hide the glare behind it.

Instead, the blonde followed Drake's lead by pulling down his top hat over his head tighter and staring forward at one of the security guards.

A few seconds passed in silence before one of them rapped the glass screen that separated them from the driver in the front seat. After that, the car began moving again and the tinted screens darkened to the point where neither Drake nor Abraham seemed to be able to see out of the windows.

Just as Abraham worried, it seemed like that they were being taken somewhere that the Schnees didn't want people knowing about. The concept of not knowing where he was going to end up spiked the blonde's anxiety to a point where he had to actively steady his breathing. Fortunately, he was able to convince Drake to allow for his eye-in-the-sky to tail their car.

_Beak, are you there? _He asked through the mental link.

_Yes, Abraham. I am following behind the car closely. _The raven replied while Abraham took a moment to close his eyes and focus his senses, fiddling with the hem of his coat in anxiety.

A few more seconds passed before one of the security guards pulled out a small rectangular box with a red light and a speaker. Pressing one of the buttons on the box, the red light began blinking and the speaker began producing static.

Two seconds passed before a muffled voice came out of the speaker. 'Hello, Sabre. I've heard much about you. My name is Winstrum Frost, head of the Schnee division in Vale. I am the one who enlisted your help.' There was a pause where Abraham expected Drake to say something in reply, but Winstrum continued. 'I know you've been working with a partner later, but her descriptions do not match up with the man sitting next to you now.'

'I've worked with many associates before.' Drake explained while Abraham tried to figure out how Mr. Frost was able to see them. 'This is Outlaw, he can be trusted with the job.'

'For the safety of both of you, I hope so. Now, for your assignment; recently, one of our offshore R &amp; D facilities was taken over by an unknown entity. We have no confirmation, but we're more than certain that all the staff have been killed, so every entity present there should be considered a hostile responsible for the lab's condition.'

Abraham's mind replayed the words over a second time in his head. _Wait…they said "entity", as in singular… _He was close to voicing out his concerns when Drake cut him off. 'What exactly do you want us to do?'

'Clear out the facility of anything living.' He explained bluntly. 'Be warned, before the guards in the facility gave their lives trying to defend the men and women working there, they initiated the Deadsafe Lockdown, which prevents anyone inside the facility from exiting. We can let you in and monitor your progress from the outside, but you'll need to complete your mission before we can send a team in to disable the Lockdown.'

It was starting to make more and more sense to Abraham why not many people came back from assignments given by the Schnees. The details that they were being given were vague at best, but what Winstrum Frost had described to them sounded a lot like a suicide mission to Abraham.

'Understood.' Drake simply replied, followed up with, 'And the payment?'

There was a short pause where the small, black box didn't make any noise before it started emitting static once again. 'You will be paid in full once your mission is complete.'

The comment brought Abraham's mind back to the five-digit figure reward that he had seen highlighted along with the short list of terms on the contract, and he wondered if he would actually need all of the Lien he would receive when they went to Mistral.

Ozpin had often told him that he should be grateful of his life at Beacon, and how most folk in Vale and in villages across the world struggled and had to work constantly just to make enough money to get by. It was on his own accord that he eventually realised that the good professor had left out a detail from his lectures; how most folk struggled to make enough money doing _honest _work. The blonde understood immediately that Ozpin was only trying not to encourage taking up such a lifestyle, but now, Abraham didn't want to argue with the efficiency of it.

Suddenly, Abraham felt the black car come to a halt as the man over the intercom started speaking again. 'This is your stop, gentlemen.' With that, the men flanking them moved to open either car door and Drake stepped out as soon as the gap was wide enough. Abraham was quick to follow his lead without question, squinting in the bright sunlight after having been in the dark limousine for so long.

_Doombeak, where are we? _Abraham asked, quickly taking in his surroundings. He had stepped out of the car and onto a grassy field surrounded by trees, with only a few clear openings that were large enough for three trucks driving side-by-side. In the centre of the clearing was what looked like a thirty-metre long warehouse with a curved roof made of glass, surrounded by vehicles and armed men in body armour with the Schnee Dust logo.

The building had an ivory-white colour with a front door large enough for a truck to drive through. The front door, again, had the familiar snowflake logo in the middle of it, where a circular locking mechanism seemed to have clamped the doors shut. Despite not having any windows, from the angle Abraham stood at to the building, he could just faintly make out several shutter doors along the far walls of the facility, most likely meant for convoys or trucks that transported supplies to and from the facility.

Turning around, Abraham also just realised that there was a large metal fence from the way they came, as well as another similar fence on the far side of the field of grass.

_We are no longer within the walls of the Kingdom. _Doombeak replied, and Abraham saw what he meant as he spotted the high walls that protected Vale just on the horizon. _But we are not far from it either._

Turning back to face the facility, he saw Drake already walking up to it – gesturing for Abraham to follow him.

It didn't take long for Abraham to catch up to the mercenary, and when he did, the blonde tried to lighten the mood. 'You think this is the part where they kill us?'

'No, that comes after we take care of their problem.' Drake replied, and for a long while, Abraham couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.

They walked right up to the front door of the facility, where a woman was quickly typing away at a console on the wall next to the doors.

Just as he was wondering if they would have to wait long, the console made a beeping noise and changed its colour from white to green. Shortly after that, the circular mechanism in the centre of the double doors began to rotate, causing the steel cylinders being used to bar the doors to retract.

All four cylinders slowly slid into the circular mechanism before it let out a hiss and retracted into the doors. Like a key, the circular mechanism started rotating once more until the pattern on it aligned up with the rest of the pattern of the Schnee logo, causing the doors to finally open.

As the doors slowly slid apart, Abraham suddenly found himself surrounded by Schnee security guards with their weapons drawn and aimed at the opening between the doors. Expecting a fight, Abraham's hand flew to the hilt of his axe, but nothing came through the open doors. The inside of the facility was as quiet as a grave, aside from the noise of the opening doors.

Neither Drake nor Abraham moved an inch until the doors completely opened, and all the while, Abraham wondered how the black-haired mercenary was able to stay so calm and stoic despite their current situation. _Maybe he's just done this so many times he's gotten used to it…_

Abraham was broken from his thoughts by a sound like two stone slabs slamming against each other. Turning back to the facility, the blonde saw that the doors had completely slid open, providing both of them with the entrance into what could be a great fortune or an unfortunate grave.

'Well, ladies first.'


	39. Chapter 35

Cleaning Crew for Hire

**A/N: This one has actually been in storage for a while because I wanted the Editorial to take a look and edit it, but I had a change of heart after today? Why? RWBY Volume 4 short, that's why. So, without further hesitation, I give you the lead-up story to EVERY event that happens in RWBY. Yes, this is what DAWN is, a prequel. Don't believe me, just keep reading.**

At Abraham's reluctance, Sabre decided to take the lead and entered the large research facility. He kept his guard up at every moment until he moved to the centre of what looked to be some sort of reception area. It was only after he lowered his halberd did he take in the interior of the building, instead of just looking for a target.

As expected of a Schnee Dust facility, the walls were pristine and white-washed, though several bloodstains, bullet holes and traces of frost ruined the façade of perfection. The floor seemed to be made out of marble tiles – and from the looks of it – with a layer of wax that had been applied recently. Overhanging lights provided the illusion of natural sunlight, but some flickered and dimmed due to damage from what looked to be a skirmish. Most of the furniture and decorations around the lobby were a similar colour of white, with the only exception being the green plants that grew out of pots filled with to the brim with white pebbles.

_They even got white soil, _Sabre scoffed at the notion as he checked behind the desk of the reception to find what he had expected; a pair of dead receptionists. _Damn perfectionists…_

'Anyone still alive?' he asked as he turned to Abraham, who was kneeling in front of the bloodied body of a woman that wore the Schnee Dust uniform.

The blonde-haired teen took great care in gently turning the girl's body over, placing his fingers to her neck, and folding her arms across her chest. 'She's dead.'

'Can you tell what killed her?' the mercenary asked as he knelt on one knee opposite to Abraham, who was running a hand across the girl's bloodied outfit – feeling for a wound.

Abraham seemed like he was just about to reply when an ear-piercing screech filled the air. It was like the horrible sound of rough metal being dragged against rough metal, or the sound of grinding glass. Not even Sabre's outfitted gas mask provided enough protection for his ears from the offensive sound.

It lasted for a good four seconds before it stopped, leaving the building in silence once more. Sabre tried to figure out where the sound came from, but from the way the building echoed the noise back and forth, the only thing he could say for certain was that it came from deeper within the compound.

'I'd say that it was whatever made that horrid noise.' Abraham said as he slowly removed his hands from his ears, seeming to be somewhat disorientated by the noise.

For a few seconds, both Sabre and Abraham seemed to have the same train of thought as they both focussed their hearing on where the sound came from. Because of this, they didn't hear the large double doors to the facility slowly come together before slamming shut.

The sudden thunderous noise that reverberated through the facility was enough to break the focus of both outlaws. Their heads swung around at the same time just to hear the large locking mechanism seal the doors.

Only once the facility fell into silence again did Sabre release a breath he didn't know he was holding. 'Well, it's not like Frost didn't tell us about this part.' The black-haired mercenary said with a sigh.

'For some reason, I had high hopes that they would give us more to work with than, "Get in there and kill the bugger".' Abraham breathed out as he walked over to the reception desk and began looking for something.

'What are you doing?' Sabre asked as he ran a hand along a part of the floor that was covered in a sheet of ice.

'Trying to find a map; there's security cameras in every cranny in the lobby, so maybe we can find out what we're supposed to look for if we can find the security room.' Abraham explained as he pulled out a drawer and began sifting through the papers in it.

'Well, whatever it is, it uses Ice Dust or some kind of ice weapon.' The mercenary thought out loud as he got back up. 'There should also be signs along the hallways to point us in the direction of a security room, so there's no point searching for a map.' Turning over a group of corpses, Sabre noticed something interesting about two of the bodies. 'Abraham, come here!' he called out.

In response, the former-Huntsman Trainee was at his side in a second, looking down at the bodies in front of him. 'What is it?'

'What do you make of these?' Sabre asked as he pulled out an Ice Dust crystal that was sticking out of one of the corpse's chest, causing the flesh wound to suddenly freeze over.

'It's an Ice Dust Crystal.' Abraham stated plainly while lowering the cloth covering his mouth. Though, when Sabre didn't give him a response, he seemed to catch on that there was something more to it. 'It's a pretty pure looking crystal – finely cut, but…' _He's caught on. _'It's still a crystal.' Abraham's eyes widened in realization before he bent down to pull a second crystal out of another corpse. 'There are more of them in the other bodies.'

'Exactly; whoever did this is just throwing around quality Dust Crystals as weapons instead of using them as ammunition.' Sabre explained.

'I've met someone who had a similar fighting-style.' Abraham thought out loud. 'But, they only used it as a last resort because shards as large as this can be pretty hard to carry around. Not to mention, it's expensive.'

'Who knows?' Sabre said with a shrug. 'Maybe our mystery intruder procured some of the Dust from the facility – we are in a Schnee Dust research facility.'

'Heh, yeah.' Abraham said with a short chuckle. 'Dust is literally in the name.'

Sabre allowed a small smile to grace his face under the metal mask before it was quickly swept away by the mercenary's stern conviction to complete their assignment. 'Come on, let's find that security room.'

They quickly crossed the lobby and began searching the floor for any sign of a security room, though all they came across were offices designed for accountants or secretaries. Abraham was actually the one to present the idea that they should split up to cover more ground, to Sabre's surprise. The mercenary didn't argue against the idea as he took off down a separate hallway to Abraham, finding more offices as he went by.

After about a minute of searching, Sabre began to pick up on a pattern with the hallways he was roaming. Some hallways would have more Ice Dust shards and crystals protruding from the walls and ceiling, while some would have less. Working with the assumption that their target was using Ice Dust and some form of ice as a weapon, Sabre decided to use the frost and Ice Dust as a form of indicator for which hallways to follow down.

After the third intersection, the hallways were starting to feel more like the inside of a meat locker with how much ice there was on the walls, floor and ceiling. Sabre was just beginning to consider doubling back and getting Abraham when he came across what looked to be the end of a hallway, surrounded on either side by a pair of elevators. However, only three out of the four seemed to be in workable condition, with one elevator shaft having been torn apart with the doors bent outwards.

Pressing a gloved hand to call one of the elevators, Sabre found that the ice must have frozen the wiring as the glass touchscreen was not responding. It was only after a second that the obvious question finally came to the mercenary. _Why does a one-storey R&amp;D lab need an elevator?_

Looking down the broken elevator shaft, realisation hit Sabre like a brick to the head as he ran back the way they came.

Soon after, they regrouped in the lobby once again to report their findings. 'I don't understand.' Abraham started. 'This place looked a lot bigger on the outside.'

'That's because it is.' Sabre began, trying to think of a way to properly convey what he saw. 'The facility goes underground-as in there are more floors underground. There's a few elevator shafts the way I searched and from the looks of things our target must be down there.'

Abraham's eyes widened in surprise at this new realisation. 'How many floors does it go down?'

'Couldn't tell.' Sabre stated while shrugging his shoulders. 'All I know is that I couldn't see the bottom.'

'Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's get this over with!'

'We can't.' the mercenary explained while sticking a hand in front of Abraham to stop him. 'The Ice Dust froze the elevators shut and made them inoperable – believe me, I've tried.'

'Really?' Abraham asked with a sceptical look in his eyes, causing Sabre to glare back in response. It was only after a couple of seconds did the mercenary realise that the dirty blonde-haired teen couldn't see the glare from under the mask. He didn't even have enough time to feel embarrassed by the notion before Abraham continued. 'Alright then, let me think…Aha! I've got it! While I was searching, I found the loading station where they keep any trucks that arrive. I noticed some strange platform-looking things on the floor and assumed that they were meant to lift the trucks up for repairs.' Abraham explained. 'But perhaps, they're meant to take the trucks underground – if what you say is true.'

Sabre nodded in agreement before speaking. 'Do you think they're still operable?'

'Definitely.'

'Lead the way, then.' Sabre said while taking Nightingale from his back. With Abraham leading him down the maze of hallways, they arrived in the large, empty garage in a few moments. In contrast to the rest of the lobby, the garage was a simple concrete-grey, with only several white outlines drawn in paint and some yellow blinking lights here and there to break the monochromatic consistency.

'There should be a console to send the platform down.' Abraham stated as he walked out onto one of the spots in the garage outlined in white.

Without speaking Sabre moved over to a raised console and looked it over for controls to send it down to a specific floor. Under his metal mask, an eyebrow raised in confusion as there was only an option to send it down. There were no specifications onto where it would go, but Sabre just shrugged his shoulders in assumption that wherever it went, they could access the rest of the facility from it – like an unloading room.

He jammed his finger into the command, which immediately caused several hydraulics to hiss and for the platform to shudder for a moment before slowly lowering. It didn't take much effort for Sabre to quickly jump onto the platform as it went down, taking them deeper into the facility.

For the first few metres, all Sabre and Abraham could see were solid concrete which the top of the facility was built upon, but as they progressed deeper, they entered what looked like a hangar with several crates and trucks stored off to one side. Flood lights along the ceiling and walls provided illumination to the empty expanse as Sabre could feel his heartbeat in his ear – eyes wide and searching for a target.

However, as the platform came to a stop at the base of the cavernous space, nothing rushed to attack them. Nothing jumped out of the shadows or fired any shots at them – they were just met by the silence as the mechanisms that lowered the platform came to a stop, which unsettled Sabre even more.

'Are you sensing anything?' he asked Abraham over his shoulder as he stepped off the platform. As he asked the question, Sabre also took the moment to stretch his Aura outwards in search of a disturbance. It stretched through the entire room they were in before stretching out through the doorway where it could stretch no longer, picking up nothing.

'Negative. How 'bout you?' Abraham asked back.

'No, which is what worries me.' Sabre said in reply as he lowered his halberd and turned to face Abraham. 'I'll go that way and look for any sign of a security room. We'll meet up there. If one of us finds it first, try to send a signal and we'll wait till we're together again.'

'Agreed.' Abraham said before emitting a shiny-black glow and sprinting off across the room and through the door that he swung open. With an annoyed sigh, Sabre turned in the other direction and headed through a door that slid open for him as he passed through it.

Down on this underground level, the hallways seemed wider and better cared for. The polish on the floor and windows that allowed a view into several laboratories was still apparent as Sabre passed by various labs and rooms that had been destroyed, with the bodies of the people working there still smeared along the walls and floors. Some of the high-tech equipment still seemed to be running and trying to operate without their Human and Faunus counterparts, as robotic limbs twitched and scanners moved back and forth at a rigid pace.

The familiar chill and frost was even more apparent than it had been on the lobby, with the ice clinging to the metal hallways more firmly. The whole set-up of these underground laboratories made Sabre's skin crawl and his heart to beat erratically, made only worse as some of the lights along the hallways were broken.

This only made the mercenary long for his original mask even more, as it not only gave him a greater sense of protection but also provided short-ranged night-vision if he needed it. Instead, he tried to focus on finding out what exactly he was fighting.

_Focus on the assignment…focus on the assignment… _he repeated to himself as he continued to walk down the icy hallways, almost jumping out of his skin at the sound of his boot cracking a shard of glass.

As much as he wanted to reprimand himself for being so on-edge, he didn't get the chance to as a distant noise caught his attention. It was a sound like something heavy and made of metal being knocked over.

Swiftly but cautiously, Sabre made his way over to the room where he heard the noise. From the outside the room looked to be some kind of office or IT department, as it had no windows to look in through. The mercenary's entry was made easy enough by the doorway that seemed to have been bent wider out of shape, with frost and shards of Ice Dust littered all over the floor.

It was only after a deep breath did Sabre make a move through the doorway – weapon drawn, but he could never have expected what he saw.

Through the iron-sight, Sabre saw down the length of his Nightingale, and at the end of it stood a large Dust Crystal made of Ice Dust. It was almost three-times the width of a normal Human and stood on a pair of unevenly-shaped legs. Three arms stuck out of its sides, with two arms on one side looking almost Human in shape and anatomy, while the third was more like a large club. Streaks and patches of frozen blood covered the creature's whole body – leading the mercenary to believe that it was the target they were looking for.

The sight of the creature immediately triggered a Recall in Sabre's mind, taking him back to a time when he was still just Drake and when his mother told him legends and stories about great golems made of the elements of Remnant.

He held firm the entire time as the Recall subsided and he was back in the vandalised room in the underground facility with a monster. It still hadn't notice the black-clad mercenary as it seemed to be almost looking for something – tearing through desks and computers with its arms.

Sabre took the opportunity to fire a single shot at what looked to be a soft-spot on its left leg, which he quickly regret as all it did was piss the monster off.

The Golem took its time with turning around to face Sabre, but once it completely turned to face him, it gave off a high-pitched, hair-raising screech that made the mercenary drop his weapon as he dropped to one knee and tried to cover his ears through the mask. It was unclear where the screech was being emitted from, as the creature had no face and its whole upper body seemed to just be one, cleanly cut crystal, but the noise made Sabre feel like there were fingernails digging into his brain.

It was unbearable to the point that Sabre seriously considered tearing off his mask to better cover his ears, no matter how absurd the idea sounded. However, just as his fingernails began digging into the latex of the mask, the screeching stopped and the mercenary was able to get a sense of what was going on.

Once the burning in his mind stopped, he could clearly the feeling of thunderous vibrations through the ice at his feet. It took a moment for his brain to process anything aside from the pain from the screech, but when it began working properly again, Sabre's eyes widened in alert.

Looking back up at the Golem, Sabre froze for a second as he watched it get closer and closer at an alarming speed – knocking aside anything in its way. After the second of shock passed, Sabre's arms acted on instinct and drew the two shrapnel-guns at his sides.

As his mind tried to process how to best avoid being run over by a large Dust Crystal, he came to the realisation that there was no way he would be able to stop the Golem's charge. Therefore, the only option he had was to change its course.

Lowering both guns to take aim at one of the creature's legs, he fired off three shots in rapid succession, and managed to cause the Golem to stagger to one side. In his haste, however, Sabre failed to take into account that while the Golem was not charging directly at him anymore, the large club-like arm of the Golem was still in his way; and this time there would be no way to redirect it.

The mercenary didn't have time to brace himself before he took the hit straight to the chest, diverting whatever Aura he had at the last moment to a Ward on his chest to dampen the impact.

The plan worked and all Sabre felt immediately when being hit was a powerful shove backwards, which slammed him into the wall behind him and sent jolts of pain through his unprotected back. Sabre's grip on his Ursa's Claws didn't loosen as he expected the Golem to try to finish him off, his onyx-coloured eyes already searching for another place to shoot the creature.

Instead, the Golem started to flee out the doorway, denting it as he went. Though surprised, Sabre tried his best to capitalize on the opportunity and rolled forward over the sheen of ice on the floor to grab Nightingale and followed the creature out the door.

* * *

A chill ran down Abraham's back.

Though, whether it was from the cold or from the sight of another room filled with corpses was beyond him.

Abraham was always one to enjoy a cold day, having found that he didn't like to work or exercise when it was too hot, but this was different to any snow day that had hit Beacon Academy in the past. This cold felt fake, hard, and confined – in comparison to the open and light feeling he got from snowfall.

It made him feel like he was trapped in an icy prison.

To take his mind off the feeling, Abraham took his time with his search to try to understand what each research laboratory was looking into.

So far, the dirty-blonde had picked up on the trend that most labs performed research involving widening the uses of Dust. Many involved creating or refining Dust that lasted longer or had a greater output. Some labs had equipment that suggested they were trying to mix new cocktails of Dust or Dust compounds, though others had hardware from Atlas that Abraham had never seen before.

That familiar chill ran up Abraham's spine again when the same glass-shattering screech filled the air. However, because of the twisting and intersecting hallways, Abraham couldn't quite place where the cry came from. As much as it pained him, the blonde knew that the only way to find the source of the horrid noise would be to listen carefully for it – a job made all the more difficult because of the echo of its cry.

Fortunately for Abraham, the silence that followed the screech didn't last long before it was broken by the familiar sound of a rifle being fired. This time, Abraham closed his eyes and focussed intently on where the sound was coming from. _Sounds like Drake's found our target...better go help him._

Down the twist and turns of the hallway Abraham ran with his axe in hand, stopping only when another shot rang out to make sure he was running in the right direction. Halfway down one of the hallways, the dirty-blonde stopped altogether as the sound of shots and heavy footsteps came from right around the corner. He held his Nightwither at the ready, waiting for whatever it was to come around the corner so that he could cut it down.

He could not, for the life of him, have expected a seven-foot tall Dust Crystal to have lumbered around the corner of the hallway and charge straight at him. In his state of utter surprise, Abraham could have sworn that the giant Ice Dust Crystal teleported closer to him every time the overhead lights flickered. _What the f-_

It was only once the creature was roughly seven metres from him and firing large shards of Dust from either of the scrawny-looking arms on its left did Abraham's self-defence training kick in. Swinging the woodcutter's axe in a smooth and practiced motion, Abraham hit each of the shards that threatened to impale him, shattering them into smaller shards or powder.

It saved him for the moment, but the move left him defenceless to the Dust Golem's large club-like arm as it knocked him backwards and onto the hard, cold floor on his back. The numb shock of pain that shot through Abraham combined with the hard sheet of ice on the metal floor was agonizing, but he didn't even have time to process it before the Golem was on him, ready to impale him with two icicles that now grew out of its smaller arms.

Inches from him, Abraham brought up Nightwither to deflect them to the side, already planning his next attack. However, before he could execute his next move, the Golem quickly attacked from the side, knocking the woodcutter's axe right out of his arms and sticking it to the wall of the hallway with a coat of ice.

Disarmed of his primary weapon, Abraham could only channel his Aura into his bracers and raise them over his head in preparation of the next blow. Time seemed to move in slow motion as the large arm of the Dust Golem seemed to get even larger and suddenly grew spikes – making it look even more threatening.

The finishing blow would never come, however, as Drake closed the remaining distance between himself and the Golem by leaping onto its back and digging the blade of his halberd into the hard Dust.

The Golem, seemingly immune to pain before this, flailed about the place as it tried to dislodge Drake and his weapon, which gave Abraham the opportunity he needed to deliver a powerful sweep-kick to one of the Golem's legs.

It wasn't enough to topple the creature, but it still caused the Golem to fall to one knee as he rolled over to break his Nightwither free with one strike of Arboria and drive it a few centimetres into the Golem's chest, causing a web of cracks to form on the outermost layer of ice and Dust that seemed to work as some kind of carapace – protecting the Golem.

Because of how hard the Golem's armour was, Abraham could still feel the shock in his shoulders after having delivered such a powerful hit, but it didn't stop him from dislodging the axe and using it to parry the creatures arms, still trying to stab him.

Abraham had to deal with the trouble of fending off the two arms as they attacked him one at a time. However, with the creature's attention on Abraham, Drake was able to position himself for a front-flip over the Dust Golem. Taking his halberd with him, the mercenary landed next to Abraham while drawing his two scatterguns and using the blades on the ends of them to duel with the two bladed arms, while constantly ducking around the swing of the heavy club.

'Move back and get ready to hit it with something hard when I say so!' Drake ordered while side-stepping the lethal blunt weapon.

Taking a few steps back, the dirty-blonde took a moment to think of the most painful weapon in his arsenal. He thought of just continuing to use his axe, but after seeing how little it did on the creature before, he put the thought aside in favour of the staff in his hand. It was then that an idea came to mind as Abraham quickly searched his pockets for the Fire Dust crystals he had packed with him earlier that day. He knew he didn't have much time, so it was with a somewhat clumsy motion that Abraham swung his Nightwither into its sling on his back with one hand. Then, with the Dust crystals and the staff in the same hand, the blonde tossed all three crystals in the air while shifting his grip on the length of the staff so that he held it in both hands. Then, with a calculated twirling motion, he was able to get the timing right so that the crystals slipped into the chamber of the staff as he swung it about.

'Now!' Drake suddenly shouted while kicking himself off the Golem into a backflip before landing on one knee. Abraham fired first; making sure his shots went over the mercenary's head as he let unloaded all three Dust Crystals in one move straight at the Golem – which now stood at full height.

Each shot met its mark, and seemed to do a substantial amount of damage to the creature as every charged crystal that made contact sent it staggering backwards before the third shot knocked it over while the force of each explosion sent it backwards several metres. It hit the wall on the other end of the hallway with such force that it left an indentation where it now laid still.

'Is it dead?' Abraham asked Drake as he lowered his staff-rifle.

'Let's go find out.' Drake said in reply as he slowly reloaded his scatterguns while walking towards the Golem creature, which now seemed absolutely still.

'What the hell is it?' Abraham breathed out, having swapped his staff for his axe again and following closely behind Drake.

'I think it's some kind of living Dust Crystal.' Drake explained while aiming both guns at the legs of the creature.

'You think this is what they sent us down here to kill?' Abraham breathed out the question as he began flanking the creature from the right, still not seeing any movement.

'I'd bet on it.' The mercenary replied right before kicking one of the Golem's legs. Inhaling deeply, the blonde held his breath as his sharp eyes tried to pick out even the slightest twitch of movement. A good six seconds passed where nothing moved, and Abraham allowed himself to relax with the creature finally dead.

However, if he had just waited a second longer, he wouldn't have been so shocked when the Golem's whole body suddenly went into a spasm – as if it were having a seizure. In response to the sudden movement, Drake fired off round after round of his weapons at its legs and arms. However, they seemed to be doing less damage the more he fired them as a thick layer of ice quickly developed on the Golem's surface as it curled up into a fetal position.

Abraham, in his stunned state, followed Drake's lead and began blasting shotgun gauges at the creature's thickening ice armour. Despite trying to remain calm, what he saw in front of him had the blonde freaking out on the inside and it was throwing off his aim ever so slightly. It was only when he had to stop to reload did he notice something else happening to the Golem.

Aside from developing a thick layer of ice, several protrusions and spikes made of ice began to appear all over the creature's armour, and they were only growing larger as time passed. Abraham put two and two together and came up with only one conclusion.

'Drake, stop!' he shouted as soon as Drake ran out of ammo and needed to stop to reload. 'It's going to blow!' At first, Drake looked at him like he was mad under the mask, but it quickly clicked in Drake's mind what Abraham meant.

Looking back at the shaking, twitching Crystal Golem, Drake quickly backed away from it while holding his hand in front of him. 'Get behind me!' he shouted, and Abraham quickly complied as Drake put up a Ward in front of them just as the creature suddenly jumped out of its fetal position and shot spikes of ice in every direction.

Half a dozen icicles flew towards the two of them at once, and all shattered against the wall of maroon Aura protecting them. Drake kept it up for a couple more seconds as the Golem stood perfectly still, seeming to analyse them before getting into a stance that suggested it was going to charge them. 'When I say so, I'll drop the Ward and you go for its legs. Clear?' Drake asked without turning around to face Abraham.

Abraham gave a nod – only realising that Drake couldn't see it after he had done it – before replying. 'Clear.' However, the Dust Golem suddenly turned the other way and began running at a speed surprising for a creature of its size.

In one fluid motion, Drake's hands flew to his back, dropping the Ward in front of them and pulling his halberd forward. 'Don't let it get away!' he shouted before taking off after it.

Abraham followed at Drake's side, trying to load the incendiary rounds he packed into his Nightwither while thinking out loud. 'What the bloody hell is a Golem doing in a Schnee Dust research lab? And I thought Golems were just a fairy tale!'

'Shoot first, ask questions later.' Drake replied as they turned the bend of another corner, following the fleeting image of the large, hulking creature turn around another corner while following its loud footsteps. However, as they rounded the next corner, they were stopped in their pursuit by a wall of ice that completely blocked their path – erected by the Golem after it had slammed its club-like arm into the ground behind it.

With his Semblance active, Abraham didn't have enough time to slow down before he slammed into the solid wall with enough force to knock over two people. Needless to say, despite having his Aura to protect him, his shoulder still bruised quite badly after that. Drake managed to stop short of walking into the wall and offered the blonde a hand up as they assessed how they were going to overcome this obstacle.

'So…what now?' Abraham asked as he rubbed his injured side, flinching every now and then when he pressed down on the tender flesh.

Drake took a few tentative steps forward before he was inches from the ice wall, running his hand over the uneven surface for a moment before it darted into the fold of his robes. 'If we can't get around it, we'll have to get through it.' He said before pulling out one of throwing kunai.

The tip of the obsidian-black blade jammed an inch into the ice where it wouldn't be able to fall out, which Drake made sure of by jostling it for a second before pulling the ring on the end of it. 'Get back.' The mercenary warned before taking a few steps backwards.

Within seconds, there was now a huge hole in the wall of ice that they could step through and continue the pursuit. However, because of the setback, the Dust Golem was long gone.

'Damn,' Abraham breathed out, his breath frosting in the air. 'Now what?'

As he asked the question, a high-pitch screeching noise came from down one of the hallways. It wasn't like the noise the creature made, but more like the sound of scraping metal. 'We follow the mess.' Drake said as he began to reload his halberd with more rifle ammo.

'You might want to switch to Fire Dust.' Abraham suggested as he began reloading his own weapons. 'They seem to do more damage to the thing.'

Turning to face him, Drake nodded once in response before swapping out his magazines for one with the symbol of a flame on it. _Well, I guess that's as close to thanks as I'll get. _Abraham thought with a sigh. 'So…ever had to fight a Golem before?'

This time, Drake reached up to his mask and detached it from his face as they walked along the hallway. Turning to Abraham, the blonde finally saw – clearly – that their encounter with the creature had shocked the mercenary as well. 'Never. You?'

'I thought they were only a legend up until today.' Abraham said with a shrug of his shoulders. Walking along the hallway, he spotted what looked like another raw Dust Crystal growing out of the wall. Reaching out, he snapped it off and pocketed it. 'Have you heard that one story about how the Golems are supposed to be the protectors of Remnant? Physical manifestations and embodiments of the elements.'

'Supposed to be indestructible and never need rest, yeah, I've heard of it.' Drake continued as they made their way around the corner. 'Which brings up the question.'

'What's a Dust Golem doing in a Schnee research facility?' the blonde finished for him. 'Maybe they captured it and were trying to experiment on it?'

'Maybe…' the mercenary breathed out as they followed the trail of ice the creature left in its wake past a broken doorway and into what looked, at first, to be a room filled with different tanks of coolant, which were now frozen solid.

The dented metal door off to one side of the room confirmed Abraham's suspicions, as it read "Cooling Fluid Room. Restricted Personnel Only." However, one thing that stood out in the room was another broken doorway, which led into what looked to be an elevator, broken beyond use and with a huge hole in its floor. It was positioned in a way among the tubes of cooling fluid that it could have been easily concealed.

The mercenary and the former Huntsman-trainee shared a quick look before Abraham gestured that he would look first and Drake put his mask back on. The dirty-blonde took his time and approached the elevator in the way of the dark shaft one small step at a time. He stopped for a moment when he was about half a metre from it and held his breath. When he exhaled, Abraham quickly covered the distance and aimed the front of his axe down the shaft, ready to fire off a gauge at anything that might attempt to pull him down it.

However, he was met with nothing but the distant sound of metal hitting metal further down into the darkness.

_It clearly went down here… _Abraham thought to himself as he saw traces of ice and icicles lining the walls of the shaft further down. Though, he himself was a little reluctant to jump head-first into this darkness.

'Anything?' Drake asked from further back. He took another moment to stare into the depths of the elevator shaft before backing off to address the mercenary.

'I can't see anything, but I'm sure it went down there.' Abraham said, only realising something once he said it out loud. 'Wait, this elevator shaft goes _down. _How much further does this research lab go?'

With an audible sigh, Drake stepped over to the edge of the hole in the elevator before speaking. 'Only one way to find out.'


	40. Chapter 36

Far Too Deep

**A/N: Going to try and keep cranking these out every Monday from now until...well until time catches up to me. On a side note, this is technically the longest chapter of DAWN yet, so that's a thing.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the legal rights to RWBY. Trust me, it would be a much darker story, with less feels.**

It was in his grasps for just a moment, before the next fall made the makeshift flare slip out of his hand and join the other one at the bottom of the elevator shaft.

_Focus…you're slipping…_

From where he was, Sabre could tell how much further he would have to go before being able to leap to the next opening. With that mild incentive in mind, Sabre mustered up all the focus he could into lodging himself in the next set of holds.

Climbing a step lower, the mercenary took a moment to check on his companion, who was a few feet from him – for safety reasons. Abraham didn't seemed all that weary from the slow climb down into darkness, but from the way he shivered every few seconds, Sabre could tell that the cold was starting to get to him.

He understood where the former Hunter-trainee was coming from, giving him more motivation to get down faster. _He won't be much help if he's stiff and numb from the climb down. _They still needed to move carefully, as the further down they went, the more frost there was on every piece of metal, which became slick to the touch. Taking another step further down, Sabre paused for a moment to consider the nature of the thought. It felt…odd, taking Abraham's fatigue into account when he made his decision instead of reprimanding him for being weak.

_Calm down, Drake…it's just because you've been "Team Leader" for too long. Soon it'll be back to being a lone wolf…_

Descending further, Sabre almost completely slipped off the side of the elevator shaft and fell into the darkness below because he didn't lodge his foot deep enough into the opening.

_Focus…you're slipping…_

Another step lower and Sabre was in the perfect position to jump backwards and through the only opening in the dark shaft. 'Ok, I'm close enough to the doorway. I'm going to make the jump.' He called up to Abraham.

'Alright.' Abraham breathed out in reply. 'Hurry up already!'

Letting out a breath he was holding in, Sabre tightened the muscles in his legs before letting go with his hands and pushing himself backwards with his legs. There wasn't enough time for him to turn around in order to stick the landing, so instead Sabre formed a Ward on his back in order to break the fall.

With the amount of ice on the floor, Sabre slid on the shield of Aura on his back for a second before stopping. Once he stopped, the mercenary's keen eyes were already searching the floor for any signs of hostility.

As it turned out, the floor they were on was more like one large room. Several frosted lab tables and computer monitors with different diagrams stuck to the wall covered one side of the room, while a large window that was fogged up and covered in ice covered the other, with a door on either wall that gave no indication where it led. The far opposite wall to the way he came in was lined by one big machine that seemed to be leaking different types of Dust. All of it was faintly illuminated by the floodlights along the walls, and made things all the more hard to see as there seemed to be some kind of lingering fog that sank to the ground in the whole room.

A chill ran up Sabre's spine; and it wasn't from the cold nor was it from the mess of Human body parts and blood scattered throughout the room.

It was from the lack of a certain Dust Golem – making the mercenary's pulse thump in his ear.

From how wound up he was, he completely forgot about Abraham for that short moment, and almost took the ex-Hunter's head off when he landed behind him with a thud.

'Oi, watch it! You almost offed my noggin.' Abraham scolded after ducking under the swing of the halberd.

The sight of the second most annoying person in his current life set Sabre at ease – as ironic as that was. 'No sign of the Golem.'

'I told you; we could've caught up with the bugger if we just fell the rest of the way.' Abraham complained.

'We already fell, like, fifteen metres down. Any further and we would have missed our opening.' The mercenary responded as he walked back over to the open elevator shaft, wondering how they were going to get back up.

'You mean _you _would have missed our opening.' Abraham began boasting as he walked about the lab. 'I, for one, would have-'

While Abraham spoke, Sabre only half-listened as he peered up the elevator shaft. In his focussed state, he felt – more than heard – a faint rattling along the shaft in his ears. The black-haired mercenary quickly focussed on the direction where the sound came from, which was made difficult by Abraham's chatter.

'Shh.' He hissed in annoyance. 'Listen.'

However, it was as if Sabre's words caused the sound to stop, and all was quiet for a moment.

'Didja' hear something?' Abraham asked as one hand slowly slipped onto the hilt of the axe on his back.

Taking a moment to calm his nerves, Sabre wondered for a moment if he had just imagined the feeling. 'I…' he stared at the floor for a moment before looking back at Abraham. 'I'm not sure.'

Abraham looked as if he was going to ask something else, but all thought on the matter seemed to disappear when a rattling sound came from the ceiling, followed by the previously broken lights on the ceiling flickering to life for a brief instance.

The blonde snapped at the sound like a startled mouse, drawing his axe and aiming it at the nearest overhead air duct. Sabre took note of how quickly he reacted, and mentally kicked himself for being a half-second slower than the Huntsman-trainee. It wasn't out of a competitive nature – competition rarely mattered to the mercenary, but more from the paranoia that one day, a half-second could mean the difference between life and death. And Sabre was determined to make sure that on that day, he'd be half a second ahead of time.

Both men waited, holding their breaths and fingers on the triggers of their weapons, for something to jump out at them and give a reason to have to reload an empty clip. One second passed, and then another, and then five more, and only then did Abraham lower his axe.

Out of his peripheral vision, Sabre saw Abraham look at him with a questioning look. In response, the mercenary only spoke up. 'Go check the doors – I'll keep you covered.'

Without giving a response, Abraham first moved to try the door on the right, which not only had frozen hinges but was also mechanically locked with a mechanism. All the while, Sabre made sure to keep his back to Abraham.

'No good, there's some kind of magnetic locking system on it.' Abraham whispered, his voice sounding distant and soft in the cold.

'Just break it down, then.' Sabre breathed out in annoyance.

Sabre didn't see what happened next, but he clearly heard the sound of a heavy weapon being swung twice, the sound of brittle metal shattering, followed by the sound of the door falling back.

'Looks quite dark down there.' Abraham called back after taking a couple steps down the staircase that led further down. 'Seriously, how far down does this thing go?'

'They're the Schnees,' Sabre replied with disdain. 'They have the resources to go wherever they want and do whatever they desire.' The words were spoken with venom as the mercenary stressed each tense.

'Ya don't have to tell me twice.' Abraham muttered as he walked over to the row of computers, leaning against one of them to get a better look at one of the diagrams on the wall above it. 'What were they doing down here?' he said as he took down one of the pictures about Faunus anatomy.

So focussed on any sound or movement that may have come from the ceiling or any of the grated ducts above them, the sudden beeping noise that came from the computers made Sabre spin around in surprise, weapon at the ready. Abraham seemed equally surprised at the noise as he backpedalled a few steps backwards, the diagram still in his hand.

The screens of the computer Abraham had rested his hand on slowly flickered to life, displaying a set of files, neatly alphabetised with a header that read "Project LIFEBLOOD viDOCs".

Out of curiosity, the mercenary got closer to read some of the file names. However, he didn't learn much from them because each video started with the same name, an abbreviation of the header followed by a number. 'Well,' Sabre began as he tapped on the glass panel twice, causing a keyboard layout to appear. '-someone forgot to lock their computer.'

It was then that Abraham seemed to have regained his nerve as he walked over to Sabre's side to take a look at the files himself. 'Looks classified.' He then turned to Sabre with a devious smirk on his face. 'Shall we?'

Sabre didn't need to put much thought into the question as he shrugged. He always got mixed-messages from other mercenaries when the topic of digging into the history or story behind a job or employer came up. Many said that the less they knew, the more likely they'd survive. However, some said that by getting some dirt on their employer, they could sometimes force a bonus out of them through blackmail.

However, none of that applied for working with the Schnees. Dirt or not, the chances they'd be able to just walk away from this were slim.

With a few taps, Abraham began the first video – which seemed to have been taken from a security camera in what looked to be a holding cell with a very high ceiling. In the centre of the room was a man – a rabbit Faunus – strapped down to a surgical bed with three men in white coats surrounding him. From the looks of it, the Faunus was fighting against his restraints.

'Test one of Project LIFEBLOOD commencing – first phase of Faunus trials.' A man's voice said into a microphone as one of the men in lab coats turned to a small trolley next to him that carried several different coloured syringes. 'Using the formula our anonymous benefactor has supplied us with, we have been able to synthesise the cocktail of Dust needed for this experiment.' The voice said as two of the other men held down the Faunus as the third moved closer to jab him with the syringe. 'Doctor Goldman will now administer the serum to Subject number 16-54.'

'P-please, no! I-I don't want to die!' the Faunus cried out as he struggled as hard as he could, letting out a horrible scream when he was injected by the syringe through the neck. After that, the Faunus was unable to speak as his jaw clenched as tightly as it could as he seemed to go into mild seizures while all the men in coats stood back. For the good length of six seconds, nothing else happened, and then suddenly, the rabbit Faunus let out a pained yell as spikes of Obsidian Dust suddenly grew out of all across his body. In the span of a second, they grew as large as six inches before the Faunus died, his body still oozing blood from the wounds across his body.

A second later, the same scientist grabbed what looked to be a scanner off the tray of equipment and quickly waved it over the Faunus' body before speaking into an intercom on the tray. 'Vital signs have flatlined and we're not picking up an Aura signature.' The man's voice came in loud and clear. 'Subject 16-54 has officially perished at 2232 hours.'

'As you can see, Obsidian Dust was used as it is one of the most stable Dust types. Further experimentation will have to take place in order to test the other Dust types.' The monotonous voice spoke again as the men standing next to the dead Faunus unfastened the straps around him and lifted him off the surgical bed to be laid down on a gurney and covered with a tarp. The way that the corpse hardly slackened showed how stiff the body became from all the Dust crystals that grew out of it. 'The Dust that grew out of the subject's body worked just like any other sample of Obsidian Dust harvested from the Dust mines, and seemed to possibly be even more potent in certain cases. However, the final mass produced only accounted for twenty-percent of the subject's body mass and has been predicted to always terminate the subject. Further experimentation will have to take place for a more…efficient result.' And with that, the video ended.

For what felt like hours, Sabre stared blankly at the screen, shocked at what he saw. His breathing was shallow and his eyes were wide as his mind tried to process what he just saw, all the while trying to remember why the voice sounded so familiar. After finally blinking twice, he turned his head sideways to look at Abraham, who was covering his mouth with his hand and looked like he was going to throw up.

Out of all the things Sabre had expected to see when he agreed to watch that video, this wasn't one of them.

'I-I-' Abraham finally spoke up, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock, disgust and anger. '-I can't believe it.' He said before turning away for a second. A second later, he turned around to grab Sabre by the collar, his eyes burning with pure rage. 'Those bastards!'

Instinctively, Sabre took the action as hostility and retaliated by grabbing Abraham's arms and slamming him into the wall.

However, Abraham wasn't done shouting. 'Those bastards in the SDC are murdering innocent Faunus for the sake of a quick Lien! They'd commit genocide if it put more coin in their pocket. This is…this is…' Abraham slowly slackened his grip as he hung his head and breathed in short, raspy breaths.

Sabre wanted to say something that could help, but there was nothing _to_ be said. What he had just saw was torture, not science.

'Oh, dear Oum…' Abraham breathed out, as he slowly raised his head, trying to blink away the tears in his eyes. _Is he really that distraught by it? _'Those Faunuses…they never stood a chance.' Then, with a deep breath, Abraham gently pushed Sabre away. 'I need to see the rest.'

'Linkin-'

'I need to know, Drake!' he snapped back. 'I…need to know how far the Schnee's went.' He concluded as he shakily accessed the next video.

Sabre knew that he should've been annoyed with Abraham – angry even, for jeopardising the assignment by wasting time like this. Yet, for a few seconds, it was just him, Abraham and the atrocities that the Schnees committed.

So instead, Sabre moved to check whether the other computers were working while Abraham watched on, keeping his guard up the whole time. Most of them only flickered with lights for a second before going out again. However, searching through the hardware of the third computer, he found what he was looking for.

As unsure of how Sabre really felt about what the Schnees were doing, _Drake_ had a good feeling that Abraham was in the right.

As soon as the next video ended, the mercenary connected the memory drive that he picked off the other computer into the closest port he could find and began transferring the entire folder of videos into it.

Abraham looked on questioningly until the black-haired teen spoke up again. 'For evidence – and so w-you can look at them again later.'

It took a moment, but the blonde eventually nodded his head in agreement. 'In that case, I'll skip to the last video.'

Sabre joined Abraham this time as he opened the file for the video. It was the same as any other; the same room, same surgical table, same three scientists. However, the previously monotonous voice now had more energy to it when it spoke.

'Ok, test nine of Project LIFEBLOOD commencing. This time, we'll be using Obsidian Dust again. From previous experimentation, we found that an increase in the dosage or concentration of the serum has the ability to increase the amount of the subject's body mass that is turned into Dust. Therefore, Subject 04-77 will be administered seven times the regular dosage.'

'Bloody hell.' Abraham muttered as they watched one of the men in lab coats pick up one of the coloured syringes before approaching the Faunus strapped to the table – this time it was a woman with the ears of a mouse.

'N-no! Get away from me!' she said while struggling against her restraints.

The other two assistants were quickly on her and held her down by her head and lower torso. 'Quit your squirming,' one of them spoke up. '-you'll only make it worse for yourself.'

'LB-14, please refrain from communicating with the subject during the experiment.' The same omniscient voice spoke again, though this time, it sounded like it was came from a loudspeaker instead of being spoken into directly.

'Damn all of you!' the woman yelled in defiance as she was jabbed by the syringe in the neck. 'Damn all of you to hell, motherf-' her curses were lost in her throat as her whole body tensed before a crystalline shell seemed to spread out from where she had been jabbed. It took a whole four seconds before the Faunus' entire body was encased in Dust crystals, not even somewhat resembling what she used to look like.

'As you can see, increasing the dosage by nine times has the effect of complete crystallisation on the subject. While not the most efficient way to grow Dust crystals using Faunuses, further testing will eventually yield a serum that can cause one-hundred percent Dust crystallisation without needing to increase the concentration.' The voice explained as the men in coats began removing the harnesses that held down the large, inanimate Dust crystal. 'However, it has been concluded that so far, all forms of the serum have proven lethal among the Faunus subjects. Although, this is only a minor setback in this field of-'

The voice's monologue was suddenly interrupted when all the scientists in the video suddenly took a few steps away from the crystallised body below. Not a second later, the man Sabre now presumed to be the head scientist down there rushed over to the intercom before speaking in a rushed voice. 'S-sir, we don't know how, but we're picking up an Aura signature!'

'What? How?' the previously monotonous voice barked back.

'I don't know, sir. We're not detecting any vitals on the scanning equipment, not to mention…I think I saw it-'

'Scan again.' The voice boomed. 'I want that to be a definite.'

Without replying, the head scientist slowly approached the giant crystal and slowly waved the scanner over its still body. In the next second, the scientist's body was splattered across the far end of the room after the crystallised Faunus had grabbed him with one of its arms and hurled him through the air like a ragdoll.

As his bloodied body slowly slid down the side of the wall, the other two scientists stared on in shock as the golem-like creature began flexing its limbs in fast twitches, bits of Dust falling away as it toppled over the gurney.

'W-what the hell?' the voice muttered into the microphone before it coughed once and spoke again in a clear voice. 'T-the previously deceased subject seems to have been reanimated into some form of-'

The voice was cut off by the sound of one of the scientists screaming in pain as the Golem reached out to grab the petrified man by his lab coat before slamming him into the ground repeatedly, leaving only a bloodied puddle as his companion ran for the door to the room and began pounding on it.

'Open the door! Open the door!' he screamed as the Golem slowly hobbled towards him, but there was no response from anyone else.

Back pressed up against the metal door, the scientist was visibly shaking when all of a sudden, the Golem seemed to freeze in place, before a second later it exploded into a shower of spikes of Dust. That was the end of the video feed, as the camera was struck with one of the spikes an instant later.

'Damn, we've lost video feed.' The voice spoke, sounding more annoyed than anything. 'What the hell is going on down there?' the voice slowly became more distant as his shouting slowly became more distant, before eventually fading into background noise. A second later, the screen freezing in a blue tint signalled that the video had ended.

* * *

'Oh, Oum.' Abraham breathed out as he turned to face Drake, his mind spinning and his eyes wide with the revelation. 'It all makes sense.' He instinctively reached out to grab Drake by the collar of his robes and shook him violently. 'Do you know what this means?' he asked, and when he didn't get a response within the second he continued. 'We're not fighting legendary Golems, we're figh-'

The dirty-blonde wasn't able to finish his sentence, as while he was speaking, the sound of something large slamming into a sheet of tempered glass came from the opposite end of the room. It startled Abraham more than anything as it felt like all his internal organs just tried to jump out of him when he himself jumped at the sound. Reaching for his Nightwither, he quickly drew it and pointed it in the direction he heard the noise come from.

Drake's movements were just a split-second behind him, albeit more composed and solid, while Abraham shook slightly from the scare and from the cold.

Staring down the length of the woodsman's axe, Abraham could clearly see that there was a spider-web of cracks on the glass window on the opposite side of the room, spreading out from the centre window.

He waited with bated breath for what would likely happen next; for the creature – or whatever was behind that glass window – to burst through and run straight at them. The trigger of the axe felt like it was getting heavier by the second, as time flew by and still nothing happened.

Eventually, some five seconds passed by without anything happening, whereby he turned to Drake to ask what they should do. Only sparing Abraham a glance, the mercenary waved one hand towards the window to indicate that they should close in and flank the window. Abraham let out a quiet sigh as he resigned himself to what he knew – or at least expected – was going to happen next.

However, before either of them were able to get within half a metre of the window, it erupted in a shower of fragments as the Golem burst its way through, club-like hand held in front of it to act like a buffer to anything that hit it – or anything that it hit.

With how wound up Abraham had been over the past few minutes, it came as a great sense of relief to him to be able to pull down on the trigger and unload two shells at the hulking beast. However, Abraham lost himself in the moment and forgot to dodge out of the way as the Golem charged straight into him, picking him up with its giant arm and driving him back all the way to the opposite wall, where he was smashed into the row of computers. Drake had tried to help free the blonde from the grips of the Dust Golem, but had been subsequently smacked out of the way by one of its smaller arms, which had now extended into a pike-like weapon.

A mild pain shot through Abraham's back as he was smashed into the wall, leaving a perfectly shaped impression of him in the solid concrete. However, the blonde's front was unharmed as he had used Nightwither to shield himself from the full force of the charge at the last second.

With the Golem a few inches away from him, Abraham could actually see his reflection in the uneven surface of the Dust crystal shell that protected the Golem. His frosted breath was laboured, and he was focussing all of his energy on holding the Golem back, but the former Huntsman-trainee could have sworn that he saw a humanoid silhouette behind the thick armour of the Golem's Dust shell.

As it raised its pike arm to Abraham's neck level, the boy did the first thing that came to mind when he was lodged between a rock and a hard place. 'I know what you are.' Abraham hissed at the Golem. 'I know what you've been through. If you're in there, I'm sorry for what you had to endure – you must still be in pain.' The sympathy and hint of sadness in his voice were sincere as he continued. 'No one deserves that fate; Human or Faunus.' Abraham couldn't tell if he was getting caught up in the moment, but his plan to talk down the Golem seemed to actually be working, as it had completely tensed up. _Just a little longer… _'Please, let us help you.' He whispered sincerely, and that seemed to be all it took to set the Golem off again.

With a low growl, it pulled its pike arm back; ready to thrust into Abraham's neck. With both of his hands occupied with holding back the Golem, the blonde had no way of saving himself. However, he had no need to as Drake braced both of his scatterguns against the shoulder joint of the Golem's sharp arm and fired both at the same time, blowing the arm clean off.

The Dust Golem screeched and staggered in pain for a moment before spinning around to face Drake. With the speed at which it moved, Abraham was helpless as he was dragged along by the Golem and flung through the shattered window when the Golem reared back its club arm to smash Drake.

With his sense of awareness suddenly heightening, Abraham noticed that he was flying through what looked like a control room or what the dirty-blonde thought to resemble a commentator's box as he passed through the broken window. However, Abraham's back did not meet anything solid yet as he continued to fall past the small control room and further down before his back finally met a solid metal floor.

Having activated his Semblance when he had been thrown, Abraham had been able to dampen most of the pain and damage from the fall while quickly taking in his surroundings. Immediately, he felt some form of familiarity with the new room he had entered, and it only took him a few seconds to realise why.

This was the exact same room where Abraham had seen the scientists performing their experiments on the Faunus in those few video recordings that he had seen, albeit the surgical table that used to be in the centre of the room was now on its side on the other end of the room. Thinking about them for a moment also reminded him that they were probably all busted because of how he had broken the computers with his back. _Damn, hope that drive that Drake found still works._

For a few moments, Abraham contemplated how he would get back up to the observatory room in time to help Drake. However, not a moment later, Drake jumped out of the same opening he had fallen through and used his halberd to slow his descent by jamming it into the far wall, causing sparks to fall as he descended. The friction between the blade of the halberd and the wall eventually caused the mercenary to stop a metre and a half above the floor.

From there, all it took was for Drake to dislodge his weapon from the thick, metal wall and leap the rest of the way, landing with a soft thump.

'Hey, Drake.' Abraham greeted facetiously with the tip of his hat as he spun the Nightwither in one hand. 'Fancy meeting you here. Look familiar?' he asked as he waved his hands about.

For a moment, Drake seemed to pause in his movements and, though Abraham couldn't tell, gain a confused expression at the absurdity of the question – considering their current predicament.

Taking a second to look around, Drake's shoulders slumped somewhat as he turned back to face Abraham. _I'm not sure how he does it, but I can feel his stare through that mask the chap's got on._

'We can worry about that later. Right now, our only concern is-' the mercenary never got out the last bit of his sentence, as a large shadow appeared on the ground in between them, which caused them to look up towards its source. Blocking the overhead lights with its body, the Dust Golem was only visible as a silhouette for a moment before it slowly became more visible as it fell towards them, arms reared back to pulverise them.

'Move!' Abraham yelped out as he dove to the side to avoid the Golem. Though it wasn't anywhere near either of them when it landed, it used the powers of its Dust-infused limbs to send a wave of ice spikes in all directions around it like a shockwave.

Abraham, not having any time to get back to his feet, had to roll across the ground to get away from the sharp spikes that formed in uneven rows. The spikes grew much faster than Abraham could roll away from them, and they were catching up at a much faster rate than he would have liked. However, as the blonde started to feel that he was getting dizzy from all the rolling on his side, the waves of ice spikes stopped and Abraham met the wall of the chamber they were in.

Using the little momentum he still had, Abraham got back up with one foot, while subsequently pushing himself into the wall. From there, the dirty-blonde used his other foot to kick off the wall and send him over the walls of spikes and straight at the Golem.

The former Hunter-trainee had his little plan all thought out in his mind; he would use the momentum from the rolling to help propel himself towards the Golem and use Nightwither to deliver a clean blow to the creature's shell of Dust. What Abraham had forgotten to take into account, however, was how dizzy he would be after having rolled about for so long. Because of this, his strike was clumsy and poorly delivered, doing little more than leaving a slash in the armour.

With his axe lodged into the Golem's thick outer layer, Abraham wasn't sure what else he could do next to follow that move up, but he didn't have time to think as the Golem changed its remaining small arm into what looked like the flat head of a sledgehammer. Abraham could see what was about to happen next, and quickly braced himself as he was punched in the chest and sent backwards, smashing through the various spikes of ice.

_Oh yeah, it's just ice – cold, pointy, easy-to-break ice. Silly me. _That was one of the only thoughts that circulated through Abraham's head as he let out a groan of pain. The blonde didn't let the pain keep him down, however, as he got back up on his feet and hefted the axe in a defensive stance, glaring straight at the Golem.

The creature almost seemed like it was responding to the challenge as it hit the ground with its club-arm twice before taking a few slow steps. Almost immediately, its attention was taken away from the blonde as a couple of sniper rounds bounced off its thick armour.

Across the chamber, Drake had set up a defensive position among the ice spikes, using a groove created by a couple of spikes to rest his hybrid halberd-rifle. The mercenary was able to get off another two shots before the Golem began charging towards him at full speed, smashing through the barricades of ice around it.

Drake immediately responded by leaving his crouched position in favour of slowly walking backwards while firing off one last shot before the Golem closed the distance between them and attempted to crush the black-robed mercenary with one swing of its club-arm.

He was a blur of black and red as Drake side-stepped the Golem's arm before quickly planting his feet on it as it hit the ground, sending a line of ice spikes up in the direction it was facing. From there, Drake climbed up onto the Golem's back and hit it several times with the blunt and sharp ends of his halberd.

This momentary advantage was short-lived, as spike of ice suddenly shot out of the Golem's back just as Drake managed for find his footing up there. The mercenary was forced to up off the creature, lest he be impaled as the spikes grew to half-a-metre in length before firing off. Those that came the raven-haired mercenary's way were easily blocked by the Ward he put in front of himself.

While that happened, Abraham quickly closed the distance between himself and the Golem, intending to surprise the Golem while it was distracted by Drake. Using a burst of energy derived from his Semblance, the blonde charged straight into the creature's side, creating a cone of dark-silver Aura that burst outwards from his point of impact.

As his shoulder made contact with the thick Dust armour, the force behind the charge caused the Golem to topple over onto its side, while sending a sharp spike of pain through Abraham's whole arm.

'Drake! Now's your chance!' he shouted over his shoulder as he pulled out a medium-sized Fire Dust crystal and loaded it into the Nightwither.

With the opportunity presented, Drake quickly swung the axe-blade of Nightingale into the ground, making sure that it stayed firmly planted before pulling two kunais from his belt. He ran past Abraham, who was now kneeling on the ground with his shotgun-axe ready, and leapt onto the downed Dust Golem. Holding one kunai in each hand, he used the motion of his entire body to plunge the daggers into the creature's thick armour – both directly in the joint between its remaining small arm and its body. In less than a second, Drake had twisted the pin off either explosive knife and jumped the creature's torso before it could fire small shards of ice out of its chest.

Skidding backwards, Drake stopped right next to Abraham and drew out his Ursa's Claws. 'Aim for the joint between its arm and-'

'Yeah, yeah. I got it!' Abraham quickly replied, never taking his eyes off the Golem as it slowly got back onto its feet. Before it had time to properly get its balance, the two daggers in its arm exploded and sent it staggering, forcing the creature to use its club-arm to stabilise itself. 'I'll go low if you'll go high.'

'Deal.'

With its left exposed, Abraham and Drake closed the distance between them and the monster before the blonde dropped into a slide and fired a burst of compact fire from below at the creature, while Drake aimed high with his shrapnel rounds.

The ball of fire left Nightwither just as Abraham began to pass under the Golem, but by the time he slid completely past it, the arm had fallen to the floor faster than Abraham could get back on his feet.

With another high-pitched screech of pain, the Golem staggered on its feet for a moment, swaying back and forth like it was sizing up its two opponents. As it turned back and forth slowly, it was silent right up to when it seemed to come to a decision and convulsed with a low, guttural groan and suddenly cause the Dust on its left side to react and form a second shell of thick ice – looking more like battle armour than a shell with the way the spikes stuck out menacingly.

_Huh, that's new. _Abraham thought before he jumped sideways into a roll when the Golem sent a salvo of ice spikes his way. Using its momentum, the creature continued to turn anti-clockwise before it brought its arm down, creating a wall of ice between itself and Drake.

As Abraham got back onto his feet, he saw the Golem – out of his peripheral vision – reach down with its remaining arm to fuse the club with the arm they had just shot off. Reattached to the Golem, the arm somehow straightened out before becoming coated in a layer of ice, making it look similar to a thick greatsword with spikes coming off at odd angles. Drake rounded the ice wall just in time for the Golem to swing the new weapon his way.

Seeing the weapon coming his way, the mercenary ducked down while using the blades of his scatterguns to redirect the icy blade upwards and away from him. From underneath the Golem's guard, he took off a few more point-blank shots before dashing over to where Abraham was to retrieve his halberd.

'Looks like it's pissed.' Abraham commented as he rummaged through his pouch for a Gravity Dust round, still somewhat in a state of awe at what he had just seen.

'If it wasn't already.' Drake replied back as he got into an offensive stance. 'Alright, it's left is now shielded, and it's got a sword, we need a new approach.' The mercenary analysed as the Golem lumbered towards them.

'I've got another idea, but you'll have to keep it distracted for me.' Abraham offered just as the Golem reared its blade back to cleave him in two. 'Also, how many daggers do you have left?'

Dodging to the side, the blonde now tried to fire a few bolts from his left Night Raven, flicking his wrist every time he fired another shot. The bolts bounced harmlessly off the creature's icy armour. 'Three,' Drake replied. '-but they're all filled with Electric Dust.'

'That works too – just throw them all at the Golem when I say so.' Abraham spoke as he moved in to take a swing at one of the Golem's legs, chipping it somewhat before he was almost decapitated by the swing of the Dust creature's sword. 'And aim for the legs!'

After taking a few steps back to put some distance between himself and the Golem, Abraham was able to switch out Nightwither for Arboria, the creature too distracted to notice him. With practiced care, the blonde twisted the two ends of the staff-rifle apart and aimed one end at the Golem, firing off a round to get its attention.

Having anticipated the Golem to slowly lumber towards him, Abraham took his time getting into his battle stance. What the Golem did, however, caught the blonde completely off guard.

Instead of slowly lumbering towards him or breaking into a charge, the creature reared back its remaining arm, which caused the blade of ice in its grasp to suddenly break into segments, connected by two thin chains of ice. With a single, powerful swing, the whip-like weapon easily reached Abraham from where he was standing four metres away.

In his shocked state, Abraham barely had enough time to reconnect the two ends of Arboria to block the attack, his eyes still wide in shock. _Bloody hell, really didn't expect that!_

The Golem pulled back for another attack, but was surprised to see half of its sword-whip fall to the ground after Drake fired a shrapnel round at the link. With the remains of its weapon, it refocused its attention on the mercenary, batting Drake away before drawing a line of spikes between it and the raven-haired teen with its broken weapon.

After that, it refocused its attention on Abraham, which was just what the blonde wanted. Taking out Nightwither once more, he pointed the tip of the axe at the ground before firing off the Gravity round, propelling him into the air. Abraham always got a rush of exhilaration whenever he used Gravity Dust to cover long distances or to get a height advantage, and as he began to reach the peak of his boost, the blonde slowly turned so that his side faced the Golem, with one half of Arboria in one hand and the Nightwither in the other.

Rearing its arm back, the creature flung several icy razors at Abraham, made from what was left of its whip weapon. With deft movements, the blonde easily deflected each projectile with the twirl of his axe.

'Drake, go for it's legs!' he shouted as he fired the remaining round from Arboria at the Golem. The shot flew like a flare as it hit the creature to no effect other than making it angrier. However, the attack served its second purpose of distracting the Golem long enough for Drake to round the barricade separating him and the creature and to pull out two of his kunais and stick them into either of the Golem's "ankles" in a low leg-sweep attack. Skidding in front of the Golem after the attack, the mercenary pulled out his last dagger and stabbed it into the ground, twisting the pin off as the Golem growled at him in anger.

_I hope Drake knows what he's doing. _The blonde thought as he plummeted towards the ground, his Semblance fuelling his strike as he reared his axe back as far as it would go. Roughly three metres above ground, the Dust in the daggers finally activated and formed a chain between all three of them, immobilising the Golem in a net of lightning.

The creature seemed to go into a fit of seizures on the spot as the lightning bolts arced between the three daggers like a snare. _Not exactly what I expected, but this works too. _Abraham thought as his body began to glow with an ethereal dark-grey right before he slammed his Nightwither right into the Golem.

When the blade of the axe connected, the force behind it was enough to shatter most of the Golem's upper body. The splinters and shards of Dust that flew everywhere immediately turned to ice when they hit the wall or the floor. Toppled by the force of the crushing blow, the Golem hit the ground with a loud thud, its ice armour and the exterior layer of its Dust shell breaking and scattering about the chamber, revealing what little Humanity was still inside it.

At its very core, Abraham saw that the creature still had the skeleton of its old Faunus self as he breathed heavily from exerting himself, his axe still embedded in what little of the Golem was left. Usually, after defeating such a great foe, Abraham would feel pride and a sense of accomplishment, but, looking down at the skeleton of the Faunus this creature once was, the warrior only felt great remorse and pity for this innocent soul.

'I'm sorry…' Abraham breathed out as he slumped backwards. 'I'm so…sorry…' it was only after he raised his hand to his face did the teen notice that there were a few tears in his eyes.

The teen was brought out of his brooding by the sound of crunching footsteps behind him. Turning around, he lowered the cloth that covered his face to see Drake doing the same with his mask. 'You did well, Abraham.' The mercenary complimented, offering the blonde a hand. 'There was nothing we could do for him.'

Too tired to argue for the moment, Abraham reached up and accepted Drake's help. 'He was in pain…'

'And we ended his suffering – there's no reason to feel guilty.' Drake tried to ease his conscience, though it also sounded like the dark-haired mercenary was also trying to ease his own sense of morality. 'Anyway, did you come up with that move on the go?' Drake asked with a smirk as he pulled down his hood.

'Well, I wasn't expecting your lightning daggers to chain up like that, but I guess it worked out.' Abraham said with a chuckle, I just needed you to keep it distracted and make it hold still.'

'Uhuh, and how did you know that you could crack it this time?' Drake asked as he began reloading his scatterguns.

With a shrug, Abraham simply replied with, 'Lucky guess.' When in reality, it had more to do with his Semblance and the speed at which he fell. Though, luck played a large part of it. 'So, does this mean we're done?'

Letting out a sigh, Drake slipped on his metal gas mask once again, locking it in place with a quick hissing noise. 'Only one way to find out.' He said, his voice muffled by the mask in the way.

After a few attempts to use their Aura and run along the side of the wall to get to the observation room, Drake and Abraham eventually worked out a system whereby the mercenary would form a hardlight Ward halfway up the side of the wall that Abraham could boost off to reach the observatory, as Drake only had enough Gravity Dust for himself.

While waiting for the mercenary to re-join him, Abraham took a moment to walk over to the smashed consoles, praying silently to Oum that the flash-drive hadn't been destroyed during their fight. It didn't take long before the blonde found the drive, snapped in two and useless.

'Aw, bloody hell.' Abraham thought out loud as he reached down to pick up the two halves of the USB, only to throw it across the room just as Drake managed to get high enough to grab the ledge of the hole in the observation room.

'Linkin, a little help here?' he called out to Abraham, who quickly rushed over to help pull him up.

'The flash-drive's broken.' Was the first thing that came out of his mouth after Drake was safely over the edge of the observation room, the both of them sitting on broken glass. 'What're we going to do now for evidence?'

Shaking his head solemnly, Drake's reply was simple and to the point. 'Without the computers or the flash-drive, we don't _have _any evidence left.'

'W-what about the bugger down there? Can't you take a picture of him or something?' the blonde asked hopefully.

'One:' Drake started, holding up one finger. '-I - no, neither of us - can't make it back up here if I went down there again. Two: Neither of us have any means of taking a picture and this mask isn't equipped with a camera. Three:' he continued, now holding up three fingers. '-who'll believe us if we don't have the recordings of the experiments?'

'We have to do something!' the dirty-blonde sputtered. 'We can't just let the Schnees get away with this! What they did here was inhumane and torture – and I refuse to stand by while they get off scot-free!'

'Be rational, Abraham!' Drake snapped, standing to full height to size up to the blonde. The tactic works as Abraham feels his conviction falter slightly. 'If what you've told me is true, then you know how this fight works.' Drake continued after a second. 'Without hard evidence, there's nothing to do.'

Looking away for a moment, Abraham mulled over the feeling of inability to act that swelled in his chest. _This isn't fair. It's not right!_ He thought for a moment while staring down at where the broken remains of the Golem lay. However, not long after, another thought came to mind – something Ozpin told him years ago when he agreed to take part in these clandestine missions. _'Don't always try to win the fight, focus on winning the war.'_

Turning back to Drake, he kept his eyes low. 'I'm sorry; I just can't…can't believe the Schnees would go this far for more Lien.'

For a moment, Drake looked like he was about to say something else, before his posture told Abraham that he had reconsidered it. Instead, with a hand on his shoulder, Drake walked back to the open elevator shaft as he spoke. 'Let's go collect our payment.'

The trip up the elevator shaft took much longer than the trip down – considering that they had fallen most of the way. With Abraham leading the climb, he didn't have to wait for Drake as he quickly scaled the side of the shaft as if it were some abstract climbing wall. After about three minutes, he finally reached the top of the shaft.

Pulling himself up, Abraham was confronted by a garrison of armed guards, all bearing the Schnee logo on their armour with their weapons pointed at him.

At the centre of their ranks was a man in a typical Atlesian white-washed suit, holding one fist in the air. Abraham wondered for a moment what was going on, but understood what the man was doing.

He was waiting to give the guards permission to kill him.


End file.
